A hearing panel from the British Columbia Securities Commission announced Tuesday that it would hear a challenge to a by-law change that was passed by the members of the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada in early October.

The BCSC panel said that it would hear an application submitted by Partners in Planning Financial Services Ltd. on Oct. 9, challenging an amendment to an MFDA governance bylaw passed at a special meeting on Oct. 2.

The commission did not release its reasons for the decision, indicating that they will follow at a later date. The commission also said that it will set hearing dates following a conference with the parties.

MFDA defers annual general meeting

As a result of the BCSC’s decision, the MFDA’s board of directors is postponing the annual general meeting scheduled for December 3, to a later date.

In a bulletin issued Wednesday, the MFDA said it “has not been in a position to determine whether By-law No. 15 can be expected to be effective for the 2009 Annual General Meeting or whether it should proceed on another basis.”

The MFDA said it said it will monitor the BCSC hearing “and determine an appropriate date and time for the meeting.”

OSC declines to hear challenge

Late last month the Ontario Securities Commission declined to hear a challenge to a different by-law change that was launched by the Independent Financial Brokers of Canada, declaring that it wasn’t in the public interest for a hearing panel to review a policy decision made by the commission, rather than an adjudicative decision, and that the IFBC itself wasn’t directly affected by the change.

IE