IFB pledges support in regulatory lobbying campaign

(July 4, 2003) The Independent Financial Brokers of Canada (IFB) says it will spearhead a lobbying effort in favour of a passport registration system that would allow advisors to operate across the country. IFB president David Barber has pledged to take a “lead position” on the issue, including posting a paper on the association’s Web site, along with the names and addresses of federal and provincial politicians.

The move comes following an Advisor.ca story on Saskatchewan advisor Martin Bernier, who was sanctioned by the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) for dealing with a handful of out-of-province clients. The case sparked some lively discussion in Advisor.ca’s Talvest Town Hall, including a suggestion that IFB get directly involved.

“We will post a position paper so that those individuals writing, calling or arranging a personal meeting with their MP/MPP will all be speaking from the same song sheet,” Barber responded this week in the online forum.

The passport model is arguably the most advanced, and most concrete, of the myriad regulatory reform projects currently being discussed. However, it could still take several years to become a reality, given Canada’s fragmented regulatory system and the historically slow pace of change in the industry.

Robert, who was the first Town Hall responder to Advisor.ca’s original article on Bernier, believes advisors must get the word out to their colleagues across the country on the registration issue. “Until you take the effort to share this with them they may believe they are alone in their outrage and frustration over the uncontrolled antics of the regulators,” he wrote.

“You should also put gentle but steady pressure on your head office letting them know very clearly that you are not pleased with the subservient stance they have taken with the regulators,” Robert added.

Barber says advisors should also be speaking out on other regulatory issues, such as Ontario’s Five-Year Review Committee, chaired by Purdy Crawford, which has recommended increased powers for the OSC.

“This would allow the OSC to go beyond the power to make rules granted in the Securities Act and allow it ‘basket powers’ which would give it the authority to make rules on matters not contemplated by the legislature in the act — a substantial increase in power,” Barber said in a recent e-mail sent to IFB members.

Advisors still have a chance to address the issue through the Ontario legislature, Barber says, which will review the Crawford report and hear from interested parties. “You can make your own suggestions and recommendations for change.”

Join the regulatory debate already underway in the “Free For All” forum of the Talvest Town Hall on Advisor.ca.

Filed by Doug Watt, Advisor.ca, dwatt@advisor.ca