Canadian Securities Administrators’ members levy more than $18-million in fines

The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) has published its annual, consolidated Year in Review, a look at the CSA’s activities between July 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023, and how these measure up against the CSA’s stated strategic goals.

“As the Canadian capital markets evolve and threats to investors become more complex, the role of the CSA to adapt securities regulation and to educated and protect investors has only become more critical,” says CSA chair, Stan Magidson, who is also the chair and CEO of the Alberta Securities Commission. Magidson also points out that it has been 20 years since the CSA’s current structure was formalized.

During the fiscal year, the CSA banned 81 individuals and 23 companies from participating in the capital markets, while 12 crypto asset trading platforms signed pre-registration undertakings with CSA members to continue operations while their applications for registration are being reviewed. The CSA took enforcement action in 16 crypto-related matters during the year.

During the year, the CSA also followed through with its promise to create a new self-regulatory organization (SRO), now known as the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) from the SRO’s predecessor organizations. It also launched the first phase of its renewed System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval, known as SEDAR+.

In outreach, the CSA established a new taskforce on Indigenous peoples in the capital markets and an investor advisory panel to bring investor insights into the CSA’s decision-making processes.

Of note in insurance, along with the Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators (CCIR), the CSA also published enhanced total cost reporting (TCR) requirements. Going forward, they say the CSA is working towards the adoption of climate-related disclosure rules.

Enforcement, however, remains a CSA core responsibility. CSA members ordered $18,454,366 in fines and penalties during the year and ordered another $20,919,842 in restitution, compensation and disgorgement. Three individuals received jail terms, the longest being 5.5 years, while six criminal cases were commenced against 10 individuals. Three criminal cases were completed during the year. Altogether, the CSA’s members also received 403 tips from their various whistleblower programs.