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ARTICLE · 21 AUGUST 2019

The OSC Whistleblower Program – Three Years Later

Crawley MacKewn Brush LLP
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This article provides key Program updates that have occurred since February 2018 and our views on the potential challenges faced by the Program in evaluating its success.

CanadaCorporate/Commercial Law
Natalia Vandervoort
Natalia Vandervoort
Melanie Zetusian
Melanie Zetusian
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In July 2016, the Ontario Securities Commission ("OSC" or "Commission") launched the first whistleblower program ("Program") in Canada to provide compensation to "whistleblowers" for confidential tips that result in successful prosecution of individuals engaged in corporate misconduct. In February 2018, Anna Markiewicz of our firm explained the Program in an article that can be found here. This article provides key Program updates that have occurred since February 2018 and our views on the potential challenges faced by the Program in evaluating its success.

The Number of Tips Received and Awards Paid Out

On June 29, 2018, the OSC released its first (and only) update on the progress of the Program. [1] It disclosed that the Program had generated approximately 200 tips since its inception and that approximately 7% of those tips resulted in "active investigations" by the OSC's Enforcement Branch, the branch responsible for investigating and litigating breaches of

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