The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) runs the first and only paid whistleblower program run by a Canadian securities regulator. It published an Update on the OSC Whistleblower Program 2016 to 2022 on March 9 showing that the number of tips made to the program has increased 17 per cent year-over-year, on average, since 2018.

Notably, since its inception, the program has awarded $9.33-million to 11 whistleblowers. The program is also credited with successful action being brought against 19 respondents who’ve paid approximately $48-million in sanctions. The OSC says the tips originated from 30 countries across six continents.

The successful tips were lauded for being focused, in nearly every case, on misconduct that would have been difficult to detect without whistleblowers. The program also identified hard-to-detect cross-border cases. They note that successful tips generally did not lead to the opening of a new file.

“Whistleblowers should not feel discouraged from making a submission because they know or think the OSC is already investigating a matter,” they write. They also note that successful whistleblowers weren’t always insiders – the majority didn’t hold internal roles but were instead familiar with the industry or the company, and had the skills to analyze information and draw out insights.

The report continues, saying tips that are most likely to result in successful enforcement action leading to monetary awards are high-quality, timely, specific and credible and often included some form of analysis. Going forward, the OSC says it is exploring the potential to issue more awards and larger award amounts. Also of note: It adds that it will be tailoring its outreach to attract more tips related to emerging and novel issues like greenwashing, auditor misconduct, improper and tied selling, misuse of algorithms and artificial intelligence. 

Calling the program a “resounding success” and a “powerful tool which incentivizes whistleblowers to come forward and protects them from retaliation,” the OSC continues in the report saying it hopes the update will spur further discussion about the importance of whistleblowers.