The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) announced that it has published Notice 11-788, seeking public comment on the regulator’s current statement of priorities (SOP) for the 2020-2021 fiscal year.

“Given the outbreak of COVID-19 and related market uncertainty, the OSC has decided not to consult on a more detailed SOP at this time,” the regulator said in a statement released April 30.

The OSC says a more substantive consultation on business priorities will be conducted in the fall of 2020 to develop its business plan for 2021-2022.  A progress report on how the OSC delivered against its 2019-2020 statement of priorities will also be published in June.

The Securities Act requires the OSC to publish and deliver a report setting out the commission’s proposed priorities to the Minister of Finance, along with a summary of the reasons for adopting those priorities.

To create its current statement, the OSC used last year’s statement of priorities, along with its report entitled Reducing Regulatory Burden in Ontario’s Capital Markets, and stakeholder feedback to create its most recent business plan. Stakeholders are invited to provide written comments on the current priorities by June 1, 2020.