There is, however, considerable coordination between criminal law enforcement and regulatory bodies as set out further below.
For instance, the Ontario Securities Commission did not have a single Criminal Code proceeding in 2020–2021, and only two in 2019–2020, compared with 25 and 34 administrative proceedings in 2020–20–2020, respectively. Īs set out above, the bulk of securities enforcement falls to provincial and territorial regulators. Sections 380 to 384 and 400 of the Criminal Code prohibit securities fraud of over C$5,000, various forms of fraudulent market manipulation and publishing a prospectus with false or misleading information. Though less common, breaches of securities laws may also be pursued under the Criminal Code, and are investigated by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and prosecuted by government prosecutors, referred to as Crown counsel (distinct from securities commission prosecutors) before a provincial or territorial court. Such orders may be imposed upon various market participants, including corporations, their directors, officers and others. Administrative penalties may also include cease trade orders and trading bans. These regulators may impose a range of penalties, such as administrative sanctions imposed by regulators, and civil or quasi-criminal liability under the various securities acts. Regulators have a broad range of powers that enable them to pursue claims using civil, criminal, quasi-criminal or administrative proceedings. Įach provincial or territorial securities regulator is conferred the power to investigate and enforce the provisions of that jurisdiction’s securities laws. These instruments carry the force of law in the provinces and territories in which they are adopted. A national instrument refers to an instrument implemented by the CSA that has been adopted as law by the securities regulators in each of the provinces and territories, while a multilateral instrument has only been adopted by some regulators. The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA), a pan-Canadian association consisting of representatives from each provincial and territorial regulator, serves to harmonise legislation through the use of national and multilateral instruments. Some harmonisation across provinces and territories exists. Securities regulatorsĮach province and territory has a separate securities regulator and securities legislation, though the legislation is similar across jurisdictions.
The result of this bifurcation is that an individual or company can be the subject of both regulatory and criminal sanctions. In contrast, Crown prosecutors are responsible for prosecuting and sanctioning criminal violations falling under the scope of the Criminal Code. The provincial regulators, including both securities commissions and self-regulatory organisations (SROs), are responsible for sanctioning administrative and quasi-criminal violations falling within the scope of the provincial and territorial legislation. Although Canadian securities regulation falls primarily within the scope of the provinces and territories, enforcement is bifurcated between provincial and territorial legislation and the Criminal Code.
The majority of enforcement activity is taken by securities regulators. Cooperation among these entities, as well as other law enforcement agencies around the globe, is common. What are the relevant statutes and which government authorities are responsible for investigating and enforcing them?Ĭanada’s securities regulatory landscape involves a patchwork of different organisations for both investigation and prosecution, from criminal law enforcement to provincial (or territorial) securities regulators, to individual self-regulatory organisations overseeing specific industries. Securities regulation falls within the ambit of provincial and territorial power, although Canada’s federal criminal laws also address issues relating to securities enforcement. As a federation dividing powers between the national and provincial (or territorial) governments, Canada does not have a national securities regulator.