The Nova Scotia Securities Commission (NSSC) has issued sanctions against three former executives of The Helical Corp. in relation to their trading in securities of the defunct Halifax-based firm.
The commission’s decision from March 23 found that Timothy Adams, Lowell Weir and Carol McLaughlin-Weir violated Nova Scotia securities laws by failing to disclose their status and file reports of trade as insiders of Helical in violation of Nova Scotia securities laws.
At the time of the trades Weir was president and CEO; McLaughlin-Weir, his wife, was chief financial officer; and Adams was vice president.
The NSSC noted the three respondents expressed no recognition of their requirements to file as an insider and disclose their Helical trades and that there are no mitigating factors.
“Insiders, for the fairness and integrity of capital markets, must declare and report and, in any event, it is the law that they do so. To simply slap a wrist in the face of the respondents’ defiance would defeat the goals of securities regulation”, said the commission panel.
The panel ordered the respondents to comply with Nova Scotia securities laws and pay administrative penalties of $20,000 by Weir, $8,000 by McLaughlin-Weir and $5,000 by Adams.
They have also been ordered to pay costs in connection with the commission proceedings. Weir has been ordered to pay $11,160, McLaughlin-Weir, $4,650 and Adams, $2,790.