The chairman of the Ontario Securities Commission, David Wilson, has called for more cooperation among regulators to defend the interests of retail investors and pursue vigorous enforcement.

In a speech to the quarterly meeting of the Investment Dealers Association of Canada last night, Wilson voiced his support for the concept of self-regulation, saying, “In this demanding environment, I believe that one of the most important tools that we possess is credible self-regulation.” And, he complimented the IDA for moving to spin-off its trade association function.

“This change will help enrich your most important asset – credibility – which is also one of the most important assets of the capital markets. For people to have confidence in the concept of self-regulation an SRO must not just be fair and impartial – it must be seen to be fair and impartial,” he said.

However, Wilson said that beyond the restructuring of the IDA there’s plenty of work to be done, both for SROs and the provincial regulators. He reported that the Canadian Securities Administrators project to review SROs is expected to release a draft report with preliminary recommendations by the end of March.

One priority for all regulators must be retail investors, Wilson noted. “To enhance the reputation of our markets for integrity, one of the top priorities for regulators and self-regulators is to jointly raise the bar in terms of protecting retail investors. We at the OSC will do our part; the IDA must do its part, too,” he said.

He recalled the Investor Town Hall, held last spring, in which retail investors aired many of their complaints with the regulatory system, particularly the redress system. “From what we heard at the Town Hall, one of the things that is especially important to retail investors is an effective means for dealing with disputes with registrants – in a fair, affordable and expeditious manner,” he noted.

One response to the Town Hall is the OSC’s Investor Advisory Committee, which will hold its first meeting at the end of this month. He noted that the OSC is also updating its brochures explaining its complaint procedures and its website to make them more user-friendly. And, he noted that the Government of Ontario is, “committed to exploring affordable and timely ways for aggrieved investors to seek restitution”.

As for enforcement, Wilson suggested that more intra-agency cooperation is needed to do the job right. “Greater co-ordination among the existing agencies that fight white-collar crime has been given plenty of lip service – more specific actions are needed to improve the effectiveness of securities law enforcement across the country,” he added.