The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) released its 2022-2025 Business Plan on June 27, 2022. As noted in the message from the new CSA Chair, Stan Magidson, the plan sets out six strategic goals which focus on investor confidence in the Canadian capital markets and facilitating their efficient operation.
The strategic goals set out in the plan are to:
- Strengthen the capital markets regulatory system (including by implementing a single SRO, modernizing IT National Systems and incorporating Indigenous issues and perspectives in CSA policy work);
- Optimize investors’ ability to contribute to policymaking and expand investor education outreach (including through the completed launch of the CSA Investor Advisory Panel);
- Improve investor protection by enhancing investors’ ability to obtain redress and strengthening the advisor-client relationship (this will include supporting OBSI as an independent dispute resolution service with a focus on developing and recommending a binding authority framework);
- Address emerging issues and trends (including ESG issues and emerging technologies and business models);
- Deliver smart and responsive regulation protecting investors while reducing regulatory burden; and
- Promote integrity and financial stability through effective market oversight.
One item that was specifically noted with respect to the goal of delivering smart and responsive regulation is work toward simplifying relevant information for investors in investment fund issuers. The CSA intends to propose amendments to remove certain non-IFRS content that has not been found useful and is looking for new ways to organize other disclosure in a way that is more helpful to investors in a fund’s management report of fund performance, material change and conflict of interest reporting requirements. Under the 6th goal, the CSA stated that it will consult on potential options to address issues that have been raised regarding access to Canadian real-time market data.
June 30, 2022