The Ontario government announced in Thursday’s provincial budget that it intends to introduce legislation that would help create the co-operative capital markets regulator (CCMR) while also introducing whistleblower protection and bolstering the enforcement capabilities of the existing Ontario Securities Commission (OSC). Yet, it is mum on reforms for financial planners and the life insurance sector.
The provincial government reiterated its support for the CCMR in the budget and pledged to introduce the required legislation to bring the proposed new co-operative regulator to fruition. However, Ontario’s budget does not provide a new timeline for the adoption of the CCMR, which is currently planned for this coming autumn despite the fact that several elements of the new regime have yet to be finalized.
In the meantime, the government indicated that it plans to propose other changes to bolster investor protection and financial stability, including stronger enforcement provisions and the creation of “additional tools to provide protection for whistleblowers.”
Although the budget is short on specifics, it indicates that the government intends to revise provincial securities law to allow information obtained in investigations to “be used in a broader array of proceedings under the Securities Act.” In addition, the government states that it will broaden the insider trading offence to “prohibit recommending or encouraging the purchase or sale of securities with knowledge of material undisclosed information.”
The budget does not include any reforms to the regulation of financial planning. It notes that the final recommendations from the committee examining the issue are expected in the autumn. In the meantime, the budget says that the committee “is finalizing its preliminary policy recommendations and will soon begin further consultation to solicit stakeholder feedback.”
The budget also does not pledge any specific reforms to insurance and pension regulation. An expert committee that is examining the issue is due to issue its final report in the spring, and Ontario’s government indicates that it is “committed to modernizing and strengthening the regulation of financial services and pensions, and to improving consumer, investor and pension plan beneficiary protection.” It does pledge to pursue the necessary legislative or regulatory changes “as early as possible”.
Finally, the budget promises to follow through on reforms to the regulation of credit unions, which were recently proposed in a report by a parliamentary review committee. Those recommendations include boosting the limit for deposit insurance coverage and expanding the business that credit unions can engage in.