Article by Gerald Swinkin, ©2005 Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
This article was originally published in Blakes Bulletin On Litigation May 2005
We live in a regulated world. As time passes, more and more industries become subject to both generalized regulatory schemes relating to matters such as occupational health and safety, and specific regulatory schemes, such as are found in the securities market.
These regulatory provisions are typically designed to ensure conduct that falls within standards which are thought to be in the public interest. Whether the conduct meets those standards or falls within prescribed limits is not always readily apparent. Consequently, regulatory authorities often are empowered to carry out audits or have a procedure for acting on complaints of failure to abide by "the rules of the game".
Unlike a classic criminal investigation, for which our body of law has developed many investigatory rules and protections for the citizen, regulatory investigations are of a different character, often sliding into a grey zone where pure review transforms into investigation with penal purpose. It is that transformation that we treat in the following articles and the various issues that emerge along the way. When you hear the second ring … call your counsel.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
