Category: News

BLG’s Resource Corner

March 31, 2023

Potential Extension of FINTRAC Requirements to the Mortgage Industry – There’s no Place Like Home

Registered dealers and advisers are well versed in the AML requirements contained in the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act. The federal Department of Finance has recently released proposed amendments to regulations under the Act that would impact certain non-financial institution entities, including mortgage brokers, mortgage lenders and mortgage administrators.

The proposed amendments are a result of a number of studies and recommendations relating to the increased risk of money laundering in the real estate sector. A number of AML obligations, such as developing a compliance program, gathering prescribed KYC information (including beneficial ownership), keeping records, suspicious transaction reporting and monthly AML reports, would then apply. Penalties similar to those imposed on other sectors would also apply, which would range based on the harm done and the entity’s history of compliance. For example, the range of penalty for a very serious violation would be from $1-$500,000 per violation for an entity.

If adopted, the amendments would come into force 8 months after their publication in the Canada Gazette, Part II. FINTRAC would be expected to release additional guidance specific to the mortgage industry to assist with interpretation of the new requirements. The draft regulations are open for comment until March 20, 2023.

February 28, 2023

BLG’s Resource Corner

Our colleagues at BLG have provided the following insights we thought might interest our readers:

February 28, 2023

AUM Law Team Members Announcements

We are delighted to welcome Iva Vranic as a Senior Legal Counsel to AUM Law. Iva’s practice focuses on securities law, specifically regulatory compliance and risk management for registrants. Prior to joining AUM Law in 2023, she worked at Scotiabank where she spent the last 14 years in legal/compliance roles of increasing responsibility. Most recently, she led a compliance transformation project aimed at optimizing several key conflict management programs at Scotiabank.

Iva has an extensive range of experience in both the private and public sectors. She has provided advice over the years on a variety of compliance issues, including registration reform, conflict management, insider reporting and obtaining discretionary relief from registration requirements.

February 28, 2023

BLG’s Resource Corner

Our colleagues at BLG have provided the following insights we thought might interest our readers:

January 31, 2023

OSC Announces New Registrant Advisory Committee Members – AUM’s Richard Roskies Included

On December 16, 2022, the OSC announced the members of the Registrant Advisory Committee (RAC) for the 2023-2024 term. The RAC is composed of members representing the different registration categories and business models overseen by the OSC, including firms with retail investors. We’re very pleased to announce that our very own Richard Roskies (Senior Legal Counsel) has been included on the committee. To read more, and see the complete list of members, the press release can be found here.

January 31, 2023

AUM Law Team Members Announcements

We are delighted to welcome Ruoxi Cai as a Lawyer to AUM Law. Ruoxi’s practice focuses on securities law, specifically regulatory compliance for registrants. Before joining AUM Law in 2023, she worked at Primerica Financial Services as a senior legal counsel engaged in general corporate and investment fund matters. Ruoxi was called to the bar of Ontario in 2018.

We are also thrilled to welcome Peter Gilmore as a Lawyer at the firm. In his role, Peter’s practice also focuses on securities law, most specifically regulatory compliance for registrants. Before joining AUM Law in 2022, he worked at the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada (MFDA) for a number of years, most recently as enforcement counsel and enforcement policy counsel. Peter was called to the Bar of Ontario in 2022.

January 31, 2023

BLG’s Resource Corner

Our colleagues at BLG have provided the following insights we thought might interest our readers:

For more information, please visit the BLG website.

November 30, 2022

AUM Law Speaks at the PMAC AML and ATF Training Session – December 6

AUM Law’s Chris Tooley will be participating as a speaker for the second year in a row at the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Training Session hosted by PMAC. Chris will be covering core concepts around money laundering and terrorist financing, client identification, what information you must collect from clients, record keeping, and suspicious transactions. To register for the event, please click here, or contact our communications team here for more details.

November 30, 2022

BLG’s Resource Corner

Our colleagues at BLG have provided the following insights we thought might interest our readers:

We hope you received your invitation to attend (either in person or virtually), BLG’s Investment Management Group annual fall educational seminar and reception. Amongst BLG speakers, two AUM Law speakers will be participating. Bill Donegan will be presenting on implications of the SRO consolidation that can be expected next year and Jason Streicher will be participating on a registrant regulation panel. We hope to see you at BLG’s House for some “Late Night Talking”!

For more information, please visit the BLG website or contact us for details on the seminar.

October 31, 2022

Lexology Awards

We are pleased to have been recognized once again by Lexology as the exclusive Legal Influencer for financial services commentary in Canada for the third quarter of 2022. These awards are designed to recognize law firms that provide subscribers with relevant, high-quality legal updates and are determined based on an algorithm that takes into account reader engagement with the law firm’s publications on Lexology. This is the eighth time that AUM Law has received this award. Read more here.

October 31, 2022