Ontario Finance Minister Charles Sousa introduced a budget bill on Nov. 16 that would see the creation of a new Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) and extend whistleblower protections to cover employees who report possible violations of derivatives laws, among other things, if implemented.
The new FSRA for insurance and pensions is designed to be more independent and consumer-focused and that it aims to improve protections for consumers, investors and pension plan beneficiaries, Ontario’s government says.
See: Insurance advisors must get ready for greater regulation
In the same bill, Ontario’s government is also proposing to extend whistleblower protections under the Ontario Securities Commission’s (OSC) new whistleblower program to tipsters that provide information about possible contraventions of commodity futures laws. It would also give the OSC the power to make an order prohibiting a person or company from acquiring securities, without a hearing, in certain circumstances.
The bill also includes provisions to dissolve the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan (ORPP) Administration Corp. and repeal laws that were passed to create the ORPP. These provisions would also clarify pension portability, give regulators the authority to impose financial penalties in the pensions sector and enact certain reforms to the laws governing credit unions, including setting the deposit insurance coverage limit for non-registered deposits at $250,000.
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