OSC chair to step down next year

(November 18, 2004) Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) chair David Brown plans to resign in June 2005. Brown has been head of the OSC since 1998.

Brown informed the Ontario government of his decision last week and confirmed the resignation in a letter released by the OSC today.

“I have long believed that for an organization to maintain its vitality, there comes a time when the CEO should step aside to provide the organization with essential opportunities for renewal,” Brown said. “This is one of the toughest decisions I have had to make — it will be hard to say goodbye.”

“Although I will leave with considerable regret, it will be with the knowledge of the tremendous resources that all of you contribute to securities regulation in Ontario, across Canada, and indeed around the world,” Brown told OSC staff and commissioners.

Brown has been one of the strongest proponents for a single securities regulator in Canada. But it appears unlikely he’ll see that project come to fruition before his time as OSC chair ends. As such, Ontario has refused to sign on to the so-called passport system endorsed by most of the other provinces, insisting that any such move be contingent on a commitment to a single regulator.

Brown has also faced criticism over the OSC’s slow-moving investigation of possible trading abuses in the mutual fund industry. The probe began last year, but there still have been no concrete results. A report today in The Globe and Mail suggests that the OSC will soon confirm that four mutual fund firms — AGF, AIC, Investors Group and CI — have agreed to pay about $200 million in restitution for questionable trading practices related to market timing.

Brown was first appointed chair of the OSC in April, 1998. He was re-appointed to a second five-year term in 2003.

Filed by Doug Watt, Advisor.ca, doug.watt@advisor.rogers.com