Maureen Jensen, chairman of the Ontario Securities Commission, stated this week that the OSC’s new whistleblower office is expected to receive final approval in June 2016 and begin operations in “early summer” 2016. According to The Globe and Mail, the OSC will be the first securities regulator in Canada to adopt a whistleblower program.
On October 28, 2015, the OSC published and sought comments from the public on its “Proposed OSC Policy 15-601 – Whistleblower Program.” Under the proposed program, if a whistleblower provides the OSC with information that leads to a contested hearing or a settlement resulting in total monetary sanctions of $1,000,000 or more, the OSC will pay that whistleblower an award of between 5% and 15% of the total monetary sanctions imposed and/or voluntary payments made. The maximum amount of the award is capped at $5,000,000.
