Ontario Capital Markets Modernization Taskforce: Road To Implementation?

Ontario's Capital Markets Modernization Taskforce (the Taskforce)¹ received a show of confidence from the Government of Ontario through the release of its 2021 Budget, where it announced that it would be moving towards implementing some of the Taskforce's recommendations.

On March 24, 2021, the Government of Ontario released its 2021 Budget under the leadership of Minister of Finance, Peter Bethlenfalvy. The 2021 Budget focused on two priorities as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to unfold: protecting people's health and protecting the economy. As part of its efforts to address the latter, the Government of Ontario announced several changes aimed at modernizing the province's capital markets sector. These changes, largely focused on the structure of the Ontario Securities Commission (the OSC), seek to advance the recommendations made by the Taskforce in January 2021. Osler previously reported on the Taskforce's final report (the Final Report), providing our