Fair Canada has announced:
FAIR Canada will be receiving funding from the Ontario Securities Commission (the OSC) and the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC). The OSC has committed to funding FAIR Canada in the amount of $500,000 per year for a two-year period. IIROC will be contributing $350,000 per year over two years. The funds come from money collected by the regulators from monetary sanctions and settlements.
“On behalf of staff and the Board of Directors of FAIR Canada, I want to express my appreciation and gratitude to the OSC and IIROC for making use of their enforcement/restricted funds to finance our work representing the interests of investors and consumers of financial services,” said Ermanno Pascutto, Executive Director of FAIR Canada. “There is very little funding available for consumer groups in Canada and the use of these funds for this purpose will benefit both the investing public and the Canadian financial markets.”
The funding will also benefit Ermanno Pascutto, a former Executive Director and head of staff of the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) in the 1980′s, but that part’s played down. Other staff members are
- Ilana Singer, a former Senior Advisor, International Affairs at the OSC
- Marian Passmore, a former Associate Director in the Regulatory Affairs Group at Advocis
- Lindsay Speed, who interned and completed her articles at a leading national law firm, but does not appear to have worked for them after articling
Notables on the board of directors include:
- Stanley Beck, a former Chair of the Ontario Securities Commission
- Stan Buell, who was appointed to the Ontario Securities Commission Investor Advisory Panel in 2010
- Neil de Gelder, a past Executive Director of the British Columbia Securities Commission
- Claude Lamoureux who serves on the board of the OSC Investor Education Fund
- Dawn Russell, a former Public Governor of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund
Well, it certainly is nice that the regulators will be getting a fresh and independent perspective on regulation from the ex-regulators who they’re funding, isn’t it?
I have previously published an article regarding the provenance of FAIR’s prior funding tranche, titled IIROC’s Slush Fund. In the press release announcing the launch of FAIR Canada, it was stated:
The Boards of the IDA and RS, which recently merged to form the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) have approved one time start up funding from their discretionary and restricted funds to create FAIR.
Well, maybe two times. But who’s counting? Anyway, it’s nice to see that current funding totaling $850,000 annually is less than the original rate:
The Organization has agreed to establish the Canadian Foundation for the Advancement of Investor Rights (FAIR). The Organization is committed to funding the foundation over a three-year period to a maximum of $3,750 [thousand]. As at March 31, 2009, the remaining commitment is $1,922 [thousand].
FAIR’s expenses in 2011 and 2010 were $924,067 and $933,455, respectively … but they still had working capital of over half a million on 2011-6-30.
[…] Aquiescing to this parody of justice were The Honourable Patrick Galligan and Mr. Michael Walsh. But there’s another million smackers in IIROC’s slush fund; I’m sure the folks at FAIR Canada will be pleased. […]