Excerpt from the Ontario Budget 2021, p.110 (p.130 of PDF)
In February 2020, Ontario appointed the Capital Markets Modernization Taskforce (Taskforce) to review the capital markets regulatory framework — which had not been reviewed in over 17 years. The need to modernize capital markets is imperative in order to remain competitive with global peers. The Taskforce’s final report was completed in December 2020 and publicly released in January 2021.
As the government continues to review the report, it is moving forward with legislative amendments to support the expansion of the Ontario Securities Commission’s (OSC) mandate to include competition and capital formation in order to facilitate economic growth. Ontario is also moving forward with proposed amendments to separate the OSC Chair and Chief Executive Officer position into two distinct roles, as well as to separate the currently combined board and adjudicative responsibilities of the Commission. These proposed changes will represent corporate governance best practices and instill more confidence in Ontario’s capital markets when they come into effect later this year.
In the coming months, the government will publish the draft Capital Markets Act for stakeholder consultation. Concurrently, the OSC is conducting analysis to inform its regulatory consultation process on the Taskforce’s recommendations that fall within the purview of OSC rules. These changes, consultations, and ensuing reforms over the coming year represent an overdue modernization of Ontario’s capital markets that will lead to future economic growth and job creation.
Source: Ontario
