The Ontario Superior Court of Justice Divisional Court has upheld a decision by the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC), in which the OSC overruled a disciplinary decision by an Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) hearing panel, and imposed a tougher penalty on a rep.
In its decision published on Tuesday, the court denied an appeal from Lucy Marie Pariak-Lukic, a rep, who sought to overturn an OSC decision that resulted in the commission rejecting a penalty decision by an IIROC hearing panel and imposing a two-year suspension on her registration. She appealed the OSC’s decision to the court, seeking to have the securities commission’s decision set aside, or sent back for reconsideration.
The IIROC hearing panel had imposed a fine, along with a requirement for close supervision and education, after ruling that Pariak-Lukic improperly recommended off-book investments. However, IIROC staff appealed the hearing panel’s decision to the OSC, and the commission ruled that a suspension was warranted.
The OSC subsequently stayed the suspension, pending the judicial review.
See: OSC stays decision that overruled IIROC panel
The court sided with the OSC.
“We are of the view that the commission’s decision was justified, transparent and intelligible in respect of each of the grounds argued by the appellant. We are also satisfied that the decision falls within a range of possible acceptable outcomes which are defensible in respect of the facts and law,” the court said in its reason for judgment.
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