In an effort to make the regulatory framework easier to navigate and comply with, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) is consulting on a proposal to develop a set of machine-readable rules and regulations.
In a paper published Monday, the OSC detailed a proposal for translating the existing regulations from traditional formats, such as PDF and HTML, to formats that can be more easily processed by computers, such as JSON and XML.
The regulator said that machine-readable rules should make it easier to automate compliance and to navigate the connections between securities law and securities rules, and between national instruments adopted by the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) and staff notices.
“This effort is intended to reduce compliance costs for market participants and mitigate barriers to entry for service providers, while supporting the development of new and existing regulatory technology solutions for investors to make more informed decisions about investment products and services,” the paper said.
Now, the regulator is seeking feedback on how to best build a machine-readable version of securities rules and other regulatory documents.
Among other things, the consultation seeks feedback on the potential impact of the proposal, and insight into possible unintended consequences that could arise. It also asks for input on factors, such as firms’ capacity constraints, governance, or risk considerations, that could limit that impact of the effort.
“The OSC is exploring how a machine‑readable regulatory framework could reduce compliance burden and translate rules into clear, consistent data that firms can build into their systems from the outset,” said Leslie Byberg, the OSC’s executive vice-president, strategic regulation, in a release.
“This could result in lower costs and faster compliance, allowing resources to be focused on serving investors and enhancing Ontario’s capital markets,” she added.
The OSC is seeking feedback on its approach by June 30.