The disciplinary committee of the Bourse de Montreal Inc. has decided that it can’t bring disciplinary action against a former rep for refusing to cooperate with an investigation after leaving the industry.

The committee questioned the admissibility of a complaint served by the Bourse against Francois Gourlay, and the committee’s ability to handle it, as it related to Gourlay’s refusal to cooperate with it after he left the industry. It determined that its authority was based on the contractual relationship between the rep and the Bourse, which ceases to exist once an individual leaves the industry.

It noted that it has jurisdiction to bring disciplinary action against a rep after they’ve left the industry, if the complaint relates to conduct while they were still in the industry.

However, the committee said it could find any provisions in the Bourse’s regulations that would allow it to extend its jurisdiction to acts committed after leaving the industry, even though his refusal to cooperate was related to an investigation of acts that occurred while he was still registered.