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Letter Summary:
• The Statement of Priorities is the Ontario Securities Commission yearly priorities planning exercise.
• This year the draft statement includes references to publishing reforms to define a best interest standard and improving the adviser/client relationship under the priority of delivering strong investor protection, as well as defining action needed to address embedded commissions.
• A new priority relates to identifying opportunities to reduce the regulatory burden and working with fintech businesses to promote capital formation and regulatory compliance. Under the priority of effective compliance, supervision and enforcement, the OSC intends to raise awareness of the OSC’s whistleblower program, among other initiatives.
• With respect to promoting financial stability, the OSC intends to implement rules for clearing, segregation and portability of cleared OTC derivatives and publish rules for market conduct and registration of derivatives dealers.
Overview of the Council’s Comments:
The CAC appreciates the opportunity to comment on the OSC priorities and commends the commission on some of its initiatives, especially as it relates to reducing the regulatory burden where appropriate. Some of the key proposals from the CAC revolve around :
• Introducing a timeline of milestones for the commission’s major goals;
• Identifying the commission’s priorities in the broader global context;
• Providing additional guidance on cybersecurity and data governance;
• Publishing criteria to measure success of various regulatory initiatives.