Ontario’s finance minister Janet Ecker has suggested a few useful first steps by adopting some of the NDP’s proposals for protecting investors, but now needs to “go the full distance,” says NDP Leader Howard Hampton.

“The minister has failed to clamp down on an out-of-control accounting profession which is responsible for the frauds that made the life savings and pensions of ordinary investors disappear,” said Hampton in a news release.

In July, Hampton released a report called ‘No Enrons in Ontario’. He sent a copy to Finance Minister Janet Ecker.

“To give investors airtight protection, public auditors must no longer be allowed to regulate and police themselves. Continuing this Old Boys Network does no favour to Mom and Pop investors who have seen their retirement savings slip away,” Hampton said. He was responding to remarks Ecker made at an Ontario Securities Commission conference in Toronto.

Hampton also said the Finance Minister must move to make corporate directors legally liable for false information contained in quarterly and annual reports. He also wants mutual fund companies forced to establish a board of directors for each fund. His reasoning is that the average investor will have a body looking after his or her interests and not just the interests of mutual fund companies. Another challenge Hampton sent to Ecker was to force companies to expense executive stock options immediately.

“The Minister has failed to act in a number of areas that are absolutely crucial to providing real investor protection,” Hampton said. “This simply isn’t good enough”.