|
The OSC has robust standards of ethics and accountability,
and these were strengthened in 2007-08, consistent with
the implementation of the Public Service of Ontario Act,
2006 (PSOA). The PSOA was proclaimed into law in August
2007 and is part of the Government of Ontario's
commitment to strengthen accountability and transparency
in the public service, which includes the OSC. The OSC's
Code of Conduct was revised, in part, to ensure that the
OSC's conflict of interest rules comply with the rules
applicable to the provincial public service. Additional revisions
were made to the Code of Conduct to further enhance the
OSC's existing vigorous accountability regime (click here).
As an organization, the OSC continually monitors and
improves the efficiency of its operations. This approach
enables staff to be flexible and responsive to the needs of
stakeholders, including investors, public companies and
intermediaries. The OSC website is an important interface
with the public and the OSC has commenced a
redevelopment of the site to enhance its value to all
stakeholders. To increase our responsiveness to the needs of
retail investors, the OSC established an Investor Assistance
section within its Inquiries & Contact Centre. This section
will focus on investor contacts received by written
correspondence, telephone and e-mail.
Ontario's market participants must compete in an increasingly
competitive global marketplace. The OSC faces the challenge
of having to administer and enforce securities laws without
unduly restricting competition through excessive regulatory
burdens or costs of compliance. As a result, the OSC continues
to develop expertise and rigour in the conduct of cost-benefit
analyses for proposed regulation, which can further support
the development of balanced, cost-effective regulation.
OSC staff conduct an analysis of the costs and other potential
impacts of policy initiatives to assist in evaluating regulatory
alternatives and ensuring the outcome is reasonably
proportionate to the costs. In 2007-08, for example, the OSC
completed a cost-benefit analysis for proposed amendments
to National Instrument 21-101 Marketplace Operation and
National Instrument 23-101 Trading Rules. This and other cost
benefit analyses are available on the OSC website.
To more effectively leverage information technology (IT) to
support the OSC, a new IT strategic plan was completed in
2007-08. The IT plan addresses the business needs of the
Commission and identifies new technology opportunities to
further improve the timeliness and efficiency of current and
future securities regulation.
Effective data, information and knowledge management is
the foundation of the IT strategic plan. A multi-year series of
initiatives has been defined to create an integrated technology
framework that supports responsive regulation through fast
and secure access to OSC and third-party information. Such
a framework will improve both the agility and productivity of
OSC operations, and interactions with market participants
and the public. The key elements of this IT initiative include
knowledge-sharing balanced with information security, and
enterprise content management.
In its HR strategy, the OSC works to ensure that it will have the
right staff at the right time to meet its goals and future needs.
In 2007-08, the OSC refined its HR strategic plan to focus on
the priorities of attracting and retaining staff, a total
compensation framework and a succession planning approach.
OSC staff have a broad range of skills, education and
expertise to apply to fulfilling the mandate of the
organization. The professional profile of the OSC includes
securities lawyers, litigation counsel, accountants, geologists
and economists. In 2007-08, the OSC hired a Chief Human
Resources Officer and improved its process for promoting
employment opportunities through the OSC website.
In February 2008, the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
published an assessment of the stability of Canada's financial
sector. The OSC submitted a detailed self-assessment for the
purposes of this independent review. The IMF's final report
noted that the Canadian financial sector is among the world's
most highly developed and offers many examples of best
practices. It also asserted, generally, that Canada has a robust
regulatory framework for issuers of securities, market
intermediaries, secondary markets and self-regulatory
organizations. The OSC, working with the Canadian Securities
Administrators, is monitoring the progress made on the
IMF's recommended action plan and will report back on
further developments.
The OSC continuously monitors its operations with a view to
improving its efficiency. Increased efficiency and productivity of
the organization support the goal of effective and responsive
securities regulation, in further fulfillment of the OSC's
mandate to provide protection to investors and foster
confidence in the integrity of the capital markets in Ontario.
As part of its commitment to enhancing
efficiency, the OSC has reduced the time
it takes to respond to written complaints
by 31%since fiscal year 2005-06
 The OSC Statement of Priorities for the 2008–09 fiscal year
is available at www.osc.gov.on.ca.
|
 |
The OSC employs a highly professional workforce with over 40%
of employees having either legal or accounting expertise. Other
professional staff include geologists, information technology
specialists, economists, communications specialists and
human resources professionals.
The OSC supports the Government of Ontario in
its commitment to strengthen accountability and
transparency in the public service. Accordingly, the
OSC is ensuring that its rigorous policies and
procedures for ethical conduct adhere to the
requirements of the new Public Service of Ontario
Act, 2006 (PSOA).
The PSOA was proclaimed on August 20, 2007. Specifically, the OSC is subject to those parts of the PSOA that establish:
-
a conflict-of-interest framework;
-
rules governing permitted, restricted or prohibited political activity; and
- guidelines for disclosures of wrongdoing in the public service, including the creation of a statutory mechanism by which such disclosures may be made to an independent third party outside of the OSC.
The OSC's revised Code of Conduct will require Commissioners and employees to adhere to the highest ethical standards set for public servants. In part, the revisions are intended to ensure that the OSC's conflict-of-interest regime is no less stringent than the regime applicable to public servants as required under the PSOA.
The PSOA also requires the OSC to have a formally designated Ethics Executive. Beginning August 20, 2007, Chair and CEO David Wilson assumed the role of the Ethics Executive. He is responsible for, among other things, dealing with inquiries regarding actual or potential conflicts of interest and making determinations on such inquiries.
The Commission approved the revised Code in principle on February 12, 2008, with a proposed effective date of August 20, 2008, subject to the provincial Conflict of Interest Commissioner approving the Code's conflict-related provisions.
Looking ahead
-
We will implement updated conflict-of-interest
policies that will appropriately strengthen the
Commission's standards of ethics, integrity and
accountability consistent with the new Public
Service of Ontario Act.
- Staff will complete a redevelopment of the
OSC website to better respond to the needs of
all stakeholders.
- We will implement improved internal knowledge-management
initiatives across the OSC.
|
