Ontario Securities Commission to pay $7.5 million to three whistleblowers

TORONTO – The Ontario Securities Commission announced that it has awarded $7.5 million to three whistleblowers, the first payout of its kind by a Canadian securities regulator.

The payments were paid to individuals relating to separate matters for voluntarily providing “high quality, timely, specific and credible information” that helped the commission obtain monetary payments for enforcement actions.

OSC chief executive Maureen Jensen says the whistleblower program has proven to be a “game-changer” for the commission’s enforcement efforts, but would not be successful without people coming forward to provide valuable information about harm to Ontario’s capital markets.

Enforcement director Jeff Kehoe added that the OSC hopes the announced payouts and whistleblower protections will encourage others to come forward.

The commission says it makes all reasonable efforts to protect the confidentiality of whistleblowers and not disclose information that might reveal their identity.

The OSC says its mandate is to “provide protection to investors from unfair, improper or fraudulent practices, to foster fair and efficient capital markets and confidence in the capital markets, and to contribute to the stability of the financial system and the reduction of systemic risk.”