Canada’s securities regulators plan to continue their focus on investor protection.
The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) on Thursday released its business plan for the period from April 1, 2016 to March 31, 2019. It noted that many of its upcoming initiatives are related to activities that it pursued in the previous three-year period, from April 2013 to June 2016. (The CSA released a summary of its activities in the 2013-2016 period on Wednesday).
CSA highlights business plan achievements
The new plan was introduced by Louis Morisset, chairman of the CSA and chairman and CEO of the Autorité des marchés financiers.
“While many of our priorities are tied to reforms initiated under our previous business plan, several new priorities have been introduced to address current challenges and risks resulting from rapidly evolving technology as well as expanding market channels and product offerings,” Morisset says in a statement.
Protection of investors was flagged at the beginning of the CSA’s list of priorities, followed by improper and fraudulent practices and efficiency in capital markets. The CSA will also focus on reducing risks to market integrity, using a combination of “responsive” regulation and harmonization of regulation on national and international levels, “where appropriate,” the statement says.
The CSA will also focus on ensuing that recent reforms are meeting the goals of its members. This includes identifying opportunities to reduce “undue regulatory burdens,” and streamlining regulatory requirements, without reducing investor protections, the statement says.
The business plan notes 18 specific priorities divided into four main areas:
- investor protection;
- fair and efficient markets;
- enforcement effectiveness; and
- information technology.
The plan is available on the websites of the CSA and its member provincial securities commissions.
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