The Ontario Securities Commission has appointed Christopher Portner as a commissioner for a two-year term, the OSC said Thursday. Portner is currently a partner at Osler, Hoskin and Harcourt LLP in Toronto.

“Christopher Portner’s impressive legal, corporate finance and governance expertise will be an asset to the Commission in its work to fulfill its mandate in the public interest,” said OSC chair Howard Wetston, in a release.

Portner has been a partner at Osler, Hoskin and Harcourt LLP for 30 years and his practice is focused on corporate securities law and corporate governance. He has advised major public and private corporations in the energy and financial services sectors on mergers and acquisitions transactions and on corporate, regulatory and governance matters. In addition, he has provided regulatory advice to Ontario and federal Crown corporations.

Portner is a graduate of McGill University (B.Sc. and B.C.L.) in Montreal and was called to the bars of Quebec in 1972 and Ontario in 1980. He is a director of the Wellspring Cancer Support Foundation.

As the regulatory body responsible for overseeing the capital markets in Ontario, the OSC administers and enforces securities legislation in the province of Ontario. The OSC’s statutory mandate is to provide protection to investors from unfair, improper or fraudulent practices and to foster fair and efficient capital markets and confidence in capital markets.

IE