The Ontario government has appointed a five-person task force to carry out a long-overdue review of the province’s securities laws.

The so-called Capital Markets Modernization Taskforce is being chaired by Walied Soliman, Canadian chair of the global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright.

Soliman will lead a review of the provincial Securities Act, which is supposed to take place every five years but was last completed in 2003 under the leadership of Purdy Crawford.

The new task force is charged with providing the government with recommendations for improving investor protection, fostering innovation in capital markets, reducing regulatory burdens, and levelling the playing field between large and small market players.

It will publish a public consultation paper in the summer and deliver a final report to the government in the fall.

The government said that, following the review, it will “undertake measures to modernize and streamline securities regulation in a way that encourages innovation and keeps pace with a rapidly evolving marketplace.”

Along with Soliman, the task force also includes Cindy Tripp, founding partner, former managing director, co-head institutional trading at GMP Securities L.P.; Melissa Kennedy, executive vice-president, chief legal officer and public affairs at Sun Life; Wes Hall, founder and executive chair of shareholder advisory firm Kingsdale Advisors; and Rupert Duchesne, former CEO and director of Aimia Inc.

Additionally, the government appointed a volunteer advisory group that includes regulators, academics, and industry experts.

Notably, the advisory group features Naizam Kanji, director of the Ontario Securities Commission’s (OSC) Office of Mergers & Acquisitions, who also led the OSC’s burden reduction task force.

“Reviews of this nature are important for healthy, well-functioning capital markets,” said Kristen Rose, manager, communications and public affairs at the OSC.

“We fully support this review, and are grateful for the government’s continued support. Their focus on modernizing the securities regulatory framework is timely, and we look forward to contributing our perspective.”