The Stephanie McManus Award was presented to Joanne Attridge, for her outstanding contributions to the ACCP in 2023. The award was renamed to honour the memory of long time ACCP member and former ACCP Chair, Stephanie McManus. Congratulations, Joanne!

CIRO has published new harmonized Sanction Guidelines, which takes effect February 1, 2024, replacing all previous Sanction Guidelines of both IIROC and the MFDA. CIRO has also introduced Enforcement Staff Policy Statements to encourage early resolution of cases and set out Enforcement Staff’s common issues that arise in disciplinary hearings.

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The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) announced the launch of a compliance review that will target benchmark administrators as part of the ongoing fight against greenwashing. The review will cover the disclosure of ESG factors and specific disclosure requirements regarding climate benchmarks.

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The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) says that retail investment firms need policies in place to ensure their use of social media, finfluencers and gamification techniques comply with their regulatory obligations. The paper examines online marketing tactics and looks at industry firms use of “digital engagement” practices.

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CIRO posted the Monthly Financial Report (MFR) filing deadlines for 2024. The dates are based on a 20-business day reporting cycle, taking into consideration Canadian and Provincial statutory holidays. Delays in the SIRFF electronic filing will trigger a late filing fee of $100 per calendar day.

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The CSA and CIRO added to their warning about referencing or participating in awards based on sales, assets under management or revenue generation, during client-facing interactions. The CSA and CIRO updated their frequently asked questions document, which now lists additional types of prohibited client-facing interactions for advisors.

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According to a follow-up report from the Office of the Auditor General of Ontario, (OAG) the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) and the provincial government have taken action on most of the recommendations from a recent audit. Some key items, such as adopting best-interest standards and a decision on fully banning trailers, remain outstanding.

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The Investment Funds Institute of Canada’s (IFIC) recent annual leadership conference in Toronto, hosted an international regulations panel featuring industry leaders from Canada, the UK and the US. The panel discussed the similar challenges and regulatory issues, (such as Total cost reporting and ESG) they are working on within their jurisdictions.

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The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) has sent out a notice to seek general feedback on a proposed regulatory framework set out for an independent dispute resolution, bringing forward a binding regime for investment-related disputes. The period provided for comments is 90 days since posting, wherein stakeholders can leave comments until February 28, 2024.

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The government in Saskatchewan introduced a bill that aims to boost investor protection, by sharply increasing the maximum penalty for securities violations from $100,000 to $1 million. The proposed legislation aims to enhance regulatory enforcement powers and enable an independent dispute resolution service with binding authority.

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