Get on board Introduction video

Update out of 2013 Ontario Budget:

Section D: Securities

Introduction

The government is continuing to update Ontario's securities laws to maintain a sound and effective regulatory framework and the efficient functioning of Ontario's capital markets. Well-regulated capital markets foster safe and attractive investment opportunities for investors, access to deep pools of capital for businesses and cost-effective regulation for the securities sector.

Toronto is the financial capital of Canada and a global financial centre. Increasingly, as capital markets remain dynamic and accelerate their global focus, Ontario must keep pace by being vigilant and building on that status by developing regulations aligned with international standards and which contribute to mitigating risks to the financial system, including systemic risks that arise from derivatives markets.

Securities Regulation

The government plans to propose changes to update and strengthen securities laws and related legislation. Proposed legislative amendments would include:

• amendments to the Securities Act and Commodity Futures Act to strengthen enforcement and investor protection by clarifying the procedures for the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) to share investigative information with other regulatory and law enforcement authorities, and adding new offences for attempted market manipulation and attempted fraud;
• Securities Act changes to expand and clarify the Act's insider-trading provisions; and
• changes to Ontario's personal property security legislation to make it easier for businesses and financial institutions to provide or obtain first-priority security interests in cash collateral. Significant progress has been made and consultations are planned to finalize key aspects of these proposals to ensure they appropriately balance relevant interests.

Following consultations in conjunction with the OSC, the government plans to propose further changes to update the Securities Act by:

• updating the disclosure requirements for exchange traded funds to provide plain-language, concise and comparable disclosure to investors that is more consistent with the requirements that apply to mutual funds;
• if needed, following current court cases that the government is monitoring closely, suspending the operation of the secondary market civil liability limitation period while leave to proceed is being sought;
• updating the early-warning reporting and related requirements for take-over bids to provide more transparency to securities regulators and the public;
• expanding the insider-trading and self-dealing provisions, including in relation to their application to investment funds;
• broadening the definition of "market participant";
• enhancing the OSC's toolkit for regulating Ontario's capital markets through changes to the Securities Act and Commodity Futures Act to:
• expand the OSC's role in addressing financial stability and systemic risk;
• give the OSC more discretion to impose requirements regarding the form in which information is provided to the Commission;
• increase the scope of OSC compliance reviews; and
• broaden the availability of freeze orders.

These changes would help strengthen Ontario's securities regulatory framework, and allow the OSC to become a more efficient and responsive regulator.

The government strongly supports broader gender diversity on the boards and in senior management of major businesses, not-for-profit firms and other large organizations. In conjunction with others, including the OSC, the government will consider the best way for firms to disclose their approaches to gender diversity, with a view to increasing the participation of women on boards and in senior management.