The Ontario Securities Commission delivered a proposed amendment to the rule prescribing proficiency requirements for registrants to the minister for approval. At the same time, it is also proposing a new amendment to the same rule.

In the OSC Bulletin, the commission reports that it has amended the rule to remove the limitation on the number of restricted representatives an investment dealer may employ. Restricted reps have their registration restricted to the sale of mutual funds as a condition of their eligibility for a temporary exemption from the proficiency requirements that are otherwise applicable to investment dealer salespersons.

The amendment was delivered to the Minister of Government Services on March 7. If the minister approves the amendments, does not reject them or return them to the commission for further consideration, they will come into force on May 21.

The OSC notes that it received six comments on the proposed amendment when it was published on Feb. 24, 2006. However, no revisions to the amendment were made in response to the comments.

At the same time, the OSC is also proposing a new amendment to the same rule. This proposed amendment would revise the post-registration proficiency requirements for salespersons of brokers, investment dealers or securities dealers.

Currently, after their initial registration, a salesperson has 30 months to complete one of two courses in order to avoid suspension of their registration. An equivalent provision, with the same course requirements, also existed in the policies of the Investment Dealers Association of Canada. In July 2006, the course requirements of the IDA policy provision were revised. This amendment is intended to amend the OSC rule to match the revised IDA policy.

The OSC notes that the regulators have published a proposed overhaul of the registration regime that would not include post-registration proficiency requirements for salespersons of SRO members, leaving them to be set by the SROs in their by-laws. However, the commission has decided that until those reforms take effect it would be appropriate to simply amend and update the existing rule.

“The commission believes that the proposed amendment will eliminate the necessity for exemptive relief from the post-registration requirements for salespersons of investment dealers who comply with the recently revised post-registration course requirements in IDA Policy 6,” it says.

Comments on the proposed amendment are due by June 7.