OSC Proposes "No-Contest" Settlement Program And Considers Whistleblower Bounty Program

In a bid to resolve enforcement matters more quickly and effectively, the Ontario Securities Commission today announced a series of proposed enforcement initiatives that would include permitting market participants to enter into no-contest settlements.

According to the notice, the timeliness and effectiveness of OSC investigations are currently being affected by the concerns of those being investigated that actions taken in response to an investigation may prejudice concurrent or potential civil litigation. As such, the OSC has proposed the following measures:

1. No-enforcement action agreements - Such agreements would be explicit in circumstances where market participants self-report and immediately remediate, and would be available in a number of situations. OSC Staff could also consider an agreement where a self-reporting party also reports in respect of the conduct of other parties where the conduct in question was jointly carried out. While Staff have simply