The Litigator
The Litigator
AGM :: Affleck Greene McMurtry LLP
THE LITIGATOR
Affleck Greene McMurtry LLP
365 Bay Street, Suite 200  ·  Toronto, Canada
416 360 2800  ·  info@agmlawyers.com  ·  www.thelitigator.ca

IIROC and MFDA to be Merged into Single Self-Regulatory Organization

Earlier this week, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) announced that Canada’s two pre-eminent investment industry self-regulatory organizations will be merged into a single regulatory organization (SRO). The new SRO, as described in CSA Position Paper 25-404 New Self-Regulatory Organization Framework, will combine the functions of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) and the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada (MFDA). The CSA will also combine two existing investor protection funds – the Canadian Investor Protection Fund and the MFDA Investor Protection Corporation – into an integrated fund independent of the new SRO.

IIROC is the product of the 2009 merger of the former Investment Dealers Association of Canada (IDA) and Regulation Services (RS). IIROC regulates investment dealers and enforces the Universal Market Integrity Rules (UMIR) that govern trading of securities in Canada’s capital markets. The MFDA is the self-regulatory organization that regulates mutual fund dealers. The mandates and regulatory regimes of IIROC and the MFDA have in recent years become so similar that a merger of the two has increasingly appeared all but inevitable.

It is expected that the creation of this new SRO will be an involved process. It has been announced that the CSA is creating an Integrated Working Committee that will determine the appropriate corporate structure of the new SRO and oversee incorporating a new governance structure and integrating the current functions of the existing SROs and separately, the two existing investor protection funds. So, it is not quite the time to say goodbye to IIROC and the MFDA, as they will be around for a little while longer!

Kenneth A. Dekker
Affleck Greene McMurtry LLP

Kenneth A. Dekker

Kenneth Dekker, a partner of the firm, is a successful trial and appellate lawyer who is valued by his clients as a resourceful and practical litigation counsel.

Over more than two decades, Ken has litigated noteworthy cases in a range of fields that include class action defence, securities and broker-dealer litigation and regulatory defence, corporate and shareholder disputes (including oppression and winding up cases), defamation, civil fraud litigation, disputes over contracts, injunctions, professional liability litigation, employment litigation and cross-border litigation issues.

Ken has appeared before all levels of courts in Ontario, including the Ontario Court of Justice, the Superior Court of Justice, the Divisional Court and the Court of Appeal for Ontario, as well as before the Supreme Court of Canada. Ken also represents and advises clients in regulatory matters before the Investment Industry Organization of Canada (IIROC), the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada (MFDA) and the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC).

Ken has been ranked as Repeatedly Recommended for Securities Litigation by Lexpert, for Corporate and Commercial Litigation by Best Lawyers of Canada, and he has been given the highest available rating of AV, or pre-eminent, by his peers on Martindale-Hubbell.

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