The Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) has issued a new set of proposals consolidating, and revising, its enforcement rules for dealers and marketplaces.

Back in March 2012, IIROC first published these proposals, which aim to consolidate certain enforcement, procedural, examination and approval rules. After reviewing the comments it received, and consulting with the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA), it made a number of material changes to its proposals, and Thursday it republished them for another 90-day comment period.

The proposals will create a single, consolidated set of enforcement rules, doing away with separate sets of dealer rules and market rules. They also aims to clarify the current rules relating to compliance examinations; and, to update the rules relating to registration approvals and reviews, IIROC notes.

The latest version of these proposals include changes to certain definitions; revisions to the rules regarding the confidentiality of investigations; and they also clarify the scope of its conduct rules.

It also aims to clarify the proposed negligence standard, which would allow IIROC to sanction conduct that doesn’t necessarily violate a specific rule. “It is staff’s view that certain negligent conduct may, depending upon all of the circumstances, fall below such a standard ‘reasonably accepted in the securities industry’ and therefore constitute a breach of our existing and proposed general standards-of-conduct rules,” it says.

It also corrects inadvertent omissions regarding dealer sanctions, removes duplicative provisions dealing with vicarious liability, and revises the rules for emergency protective orders. Additionally, IIROC is proposing to create a new committee that would be responsible for nominating public members of its district hearing committees.

“In undertaking this important rule consolidation initiative, our goal was to streamline, enhance and safeguard the integrity of IIROC’s enforcement, examination and registration processes,” said Paul Riccardi, senior vice president, enforcement, member policy and registration at IIROC. “A single consolidated set of rules will provide all stakeholders with greater clarity and transparency and ensure consistency in the application of these processes.”

The proposals are out for comment until Feb. 12, 2014.