(May 1 – 13:50 ET) – The Ontario Securities Commission has published a notice regarding the fine-tuning of its proposed financial planning proficiency regime.

On April 6, the Ontario Minister of Finance returned the OSC’s proposed rule to the commission for further consideration, “of the balance struck in the rule between compliance costs and investor protection”.

The OSC says the, “minister expressed support for the commission’s work towards creating a high, uniform proficiency standard for financial planning advice to better protect consumers and investors.”

The notice says commission staff propose to engage in a round of consultations with interested parties to explore concerns regarding the clarity and scope of the title and service description word pools and the two year experience requirement. More details on the specific concerns are available in the May issue of Investment Executive (http://204.225.136.130/NewIE/index.php3?sid=0&setion=45&article9=10153)

The OSC says it is encouraged that the industry continues to support the proficiency standard and a national exam. It says representatives of the IDA, IFIC, CAIFA, and CBA have been working co-operatively to put in place a governance structure and common administrative and operational procedures to administer a national exam. The industry is preparing to deliver the Financial Planning Proficiency Exam across Canada twice in late 2001.

The OSC expects that the effective date of the rule will still be Feb. 15, 2002. The commission hopes to publish a revised version of the rule for comment at the beginning of June. The Financial Services Commission of Ontario will recommend to the minister that a similar rule be adopted for agents licensed under the Insurance Act.

However, British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec are not participating in the initiative. The commission says it will “continue to demonstrate leadership in the implementation of the rule and will encourage other securities and insurance regulators through the Canadian Securities Administrators and the Joint Forum of Financial Market Regulators to implement the amended instrument”.