Would-be whistleblower found dead

(December 31, 2004) A would-be whistleblower from the financial services industry has been found dead, apparently of suicide. Reports say Kent Shirley was found dead in his parents’ home on Christmas Eve.

Shirley was embroiled in a constructive dismissal lawsuit against Advocis’ founding chairman Brian Mallard, with both sides alleging regulatory wrongdoing. Shirley was an assistant in Mallard’s Assante practice in Saskatoon, between 1996 and January 2004.

According to court documents, Shirley alleged Mallard “condoned, engaged in and required Shirley to engage in unethical behaviour and/or illegal conduct.” Mallard denied the charges, calling the suit “extortion.”

Shirley had turned files over to the Saskatchewan Securities Commission, the MFDA and the RCMP. The legal battle found its way into the national news media in an article by Jonathan Chevreau in the National Post. Chevreau reported the death this week on Wealthyboomer.com.

For some, Shirley was seen as a whistleblower fighting for investment transparency.

Stephen Gadsden, a former Assante planner and current contributor to FundLibrary.com, has posted an “Open Letter to Canadians” on his website, saying: “[Shirley’s] death represents, at the very least, an example of the ultimate consequences of corporate and regulatory sweep-it-under-the-rug-and-hope-it-goes-away business practices that have plagued Canada’s financial services industry for decades.”

Filed by Steven Lamb, Advisor.ca, steven.lamb@advisor.rogers.com