The Ontario Securities Commission says that it will accept applications for registration from registered reps in other provinces without requiring the reps to sign up for proficiency education courses.

The OSC says in a notice that it will be reviewing its rule regarding proficiency requirements for registrants. And it says, “In the interim, staff will look favourably on applications for registration or renewal of registration that are received from individuals who have satisfied all other applicable requirements and are registered in provinces and territories outside Ontario.”

Under the current system, individuals who have completed required courses or examinations more than three years previously can be registered or reinstated in a registration category, provided that the individual was registered in that registration category during the preceding three-year period. But, this only applies to applicants that have been previously registered in Ontario, and does not apply to applicants for registration who have been continuously registered in other provinces and territories in Canada.

So, individuals who have satisfied proficiency requirements of other provinces and territories that are substantially equivalent to those that apply in Ontario, and who have been continuously registered in substantially equivalent registration categories, cannot receive exemptions. Now, OSC staff will be undertaking a comprehensive review of the rule.