The Ontario Securities Commission has published the final version of its statement of priorities for the coming year.

A draft of the OSC’s priorities was published for comment back in April, the final version is due for submission by June 30.

In response to the comments it received, the OSC has added its new “vision statement” to the statement, and it has clarified its intention to take a leadership role in terms of communicating issues related to management certification requirements and the transition to international financial reporting standards.

“A number of interesting proposals, although not added as priorities due to the significant number of priorities identified already for 2008/2009, will be strongly considered as we move forward,” it reports. “For example, we will look at ways to incorporate the suggestion to take a more macroprudential approach in our work with other regulators in addressing issues such as international financial reporting standards, asset backed commercial paper and capital requirements.”

Also, it says that it received useful suggestions about how to achieve existing priorities. “While not resulting in changes to the document, will be considered in undertaking the identified initiatives,” it says.

Additionally, the OSC reports that, “There continues to be strong support for our focus on enforcement including support for continued efforts to pursue co-operation across jurisdictions. Support for efforts toward improving harmonization and cooperation both within the securities regulatory framework and with other related regulatory bodies also was noted by a number of respondents. Support for our focus on retail investor issues such as investor education/empowerment, scholarship plans and point-of-sale were noted again this year. A number of the respondents noted issues related to the cost of compliance and the importance of ensuring that our operations are as efficient as possible and that we use a balanced approach to regulation.”