OSC Releases Statement Of Priorities For 2012-2013

The Ontario Securities Commission released the final version of its Statement of Priorities today for the financial year ending March 1, 2013. As we discussed in an earlier post, the OSC published a draft version in March, and the final version of the statement addresses some of the comments received by the regulator.

Notably, the OSC states that it intends, in consultation with the CSA, to complete a thorough analysis on, and issue a research paper regarding, the question of whether an explicit statutory fiduciary duty or other standards should apply to all advisers and dealers in Ontario. Our own Ed Waitzer has written extensively on the subject.

The OSC has also included in its revised statement that it will make application under section 128 of the Securities Act [applications to court] where appropriate to compensate investors.