In light of the current economic climate, the Ontario Securities Commission is freezing “participation and activity fees” for one year.

The OSC published the amended fee rules on Friday. The freeze is in place until March 31, 2010.

“We understand the challenges faced by market participants in Ontario and recognize that now is not the time for a fee increase. Maintaining the current fee levels for the next year will not impact our ability to provide protection to investors from unfair, improper or fraudulent practices and foster fair and efficient capital markets,” said David Wilson, OSC chairman

On Oct. 3, 2008, the OSC published the fee rules for public comment. At the time, cost increases and an updated fee structure were proposed to match the OSC’s forecast costs over the next two years.

Since then, the economic situation in Ontario and around the world has worsened. Market participants expressed concerns with the proposed rule changes in the context of the current economic situation. “Those concerns were taken into consideration when amending the rules,” the OSC said

The commission operates on a cost-recovery basis, and by not increasing fees will experience a revenue shortfall over the next fiscal year.

Any operating deficit experienced by the OSC will be offset by the surplus that was generated as a result of strong performance of the markets in recent years, the commission says.

Over the next year, the regulator plans a review of issues related to the fee model so it can return to fully recovering its costs.

The amended rules are subject to approval by the Ontario Minister of Finance and are available on the OSC web site.

IE