The OSC recently released its Statement of Priorities for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2022. Similar to previous years, the OSC has identified four strategic goals on which the regulator intends to focus, namely: (i) promoting confidence in Ontario's capital markets among investors and market participants; (ii) reducing the regulatory burden for businesses and financial services providers; (iii) facilitating financial innovation; and (iv) strengthening its organizational foundation.
Under these broad goals, the OSC identified a number of specific priorities, including, among other things:
- supporting the implementation of client focused reforms;
- discontinuing the mutual fund deferred sales charges option;
- strengthening investor redress through the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments;
- bringing timely and impactful enforcement actions;
- publishing a recommended framework for self-regulatory organizations;
- expanding systemic risk oversight;
- strengthening the oversight of crypto asset trading platforms and dealers;
- continue work on implementing recommendations made by the Capital Markets Modernization Taskforce;
- improving disclosure related to climate change by publishing for comment a proposed rule setting out disclosure requirements for public companies;
- developing an enhanced framework for reducing undue regulatory burdens;
- engaging with innovative businesses and supporting financial innovation; and
- redeveloping the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) national systems by replacing legacy systems with SEDAR+, which will be used by market participants for filings, disclosure and payments
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