The Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) announced Feb. 22 that it is launching a public consultation on two new proposed disciplinary approaches.

The new approaches deal with minor violations of the regulator’s rules and the resolution of disciplinary cases.

Minor violation program

The first approach is to establish a minor violation program, which would aim to avoid the time and expense of a full disciplinary hearing while ensuring that minor offenses are dealt with appropriately, said IIROC in an announcement. Under this program, individuals would be fined $2,500 and firms would be fined $5,000. Admitting to a rule breach “would not reside on the individual's or firm's formal disciplinary record and the public notice of the misconduct would remain anonymous,” says the regulator.

Early resolution program

IIROC is also proposing an early resolution program. The goal would be to settle cases earlier in the enforcement process “once sufficient facts of a case are known and certain conditions are present.”

"IIROC welcomes the opportunity to hear from investors, industry and other stakeholders about the changes we propose to ensure a fair, effective and timely enforcement program," says Elsa Renzella, IIROC Senior Vice-President, Registration and Enforcement. "We expect these approaches will provide faster resolution and allow us to focus our resources on more serious cases where there has been harm to investors."

Public comment period

Public comment on the proposed approaches will be open for 90 days. IIROC also plans to get direct input on its proposals from investors via an online, cross-Canada survey. IIROC says that following the comment period it will either revise its proposals or republish for further comment prior to implementation.

For more information, consult this document on the regulator’s website.