The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) announced Wednesday that Charles Sousa, Ontario minister of finance, will participate in in Canada’s first ever hackathon by a securities regulator, which is being hosted by the OSC this weekend in Toronto.
The event brings together innovators, strategists and developers to explore possible solutions to various regulatory issues.
“Ontario is well positioned to become a fintech leader because of our strong financial services and technology sectors,” said Sousa in a statement. “This hackathon is another example of how the OSC is supporting innovation in the fintech sector and I look forward to participating in RegHackTO.”
The hackathon, which is slated to run from Nov. 25 to Nov. 27, will also feature a debate on innovation and protecting investors, which will be moderated by Monica Kowal OSC vice chairwoman.
The OSC also announced the full judging panel for the event, which includes:
- Maureen Jensen, chairwoman and CEO of the OSC
- Doug Steiner, CEO, EVREE Corp.
- Chris De Bruin, president, digital platform, Zafin Technology
- Ethan Wilding, co-founder, Ledger Labs, and
- Adam Felesky, president and managing partner, Portag3 Ventures GP Inc.
“RegHackTO represents a significant departure from our traditional methods of gathering input on financial regulation and it’s unprecedented for a securities regulator in Canada,” said Jensen. “We want to leverage the disruption taking place in financial services, which offers real opportunities to address longstanding challenges in the regulatory environment — that’s a win-win for innovators, regulators and investors.”