Notice from the Office of the Secretary: Publication of the Ontario Securities Commission’s Adjudicative Orders, Rulings and Decisions

TORONTO – The transparency of the Ontario Securities Commission (the “Commission”)’s adjudicative proceedings is advanced by making its adjudicative orders, rulings and decisions (collectively, “decisions”) fully accessible to the public.

The Commission’s practice, in keeping with the goals of openness and transparency, is to publish all decisions made with respect to matters before the adjudicative tribunal in the OSC Bulletin and on the Commission’s website at www.osc.gov.on.ca. The decisions may also be available on other public sites or by subscription.

Once the Commission’s decisions are published on the Commission’s website, they become a permanent public record.

In limited circumstances, the confidential nature of a hearing may require that the Commission issue a confidential decision that is released only to the parties to the matter before the Commission, and not to the public. Where practicable, and depending on the circumstances, decisions that are confidential in nature will be published publicly in an anonymized format that does not disclose the names of the parties, or other identifiers.

The Commission recognizes that there is a public interest in limiting the disclosure of personal information and names of investors and witnesses in adjudicative matters. Accordingly, the Commission will not include personal information, as defined in s. 2 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. F.31, of investors and witnesses in an adjudicative decision unless that information is necessary to support the decision. However, some personal information about respondents in Commission proceedings that is viewed as relevant will be included in the Commission’s adjudicative decisions.

See also the Commission’s Practice Guideline dated April 24, 2012 for a more detailed description of the Commission’s practice with respect to the use and disclosure of personal information in adjudicative proceedings.

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY
JOHN P. STEVENSON
SECRETARY