The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) has posted the new members of the regulator’s Fintech Advisory Committee (FAC). The FAC ostensibly advises the OSC on developments in the Fintech space while providing perspective on challenges facing emerging fintech firms.
While there remains some overlap from last years list (represented firm) there are a good number of new entities on the list. Members serve for a year but may be reappointed.
The FAC is chaired by Pat Chaukos, an OSC veteran, who leads the OSC LaunchPad, an initiative to support emerging Fintechs manage the regulatory environment.
Notably, Peter-Paul Van Hoeken, CEO and founder of FrontFundr, is on the FAC. Van Hoeken recently slammed Canadian Securities Regulators for their profound inability to harmonize crowdfunding rules while creating an online capital formation ecosystem that actually works. Hopefully, Van Hoeken’s presence will prod recalcitrant regulators in the right direction.
Tanya Woods, Managing Director of the Chamber of Digital Commerce Canada, has been added to the FAC. The Digital Chamber of Commerce Canada is a recent entity created by an effective merger between the US Digital Chamber of Commerce and the Blockchain Association of Canada. The Chamber of Digital Commerce has been a highly visible presence in the discussion about distributed ledger technology and crafting a regulatory environment that is effective.
The mandate of the OSC is defined as providing “protection to investors from unfair, improper or fraudulent practices, to foster fair and efficient capital markets and confidence in the capital markets, and to contribute to the stability of the financial system and the reduction of systemic risk.” What is missing is a competition mandate.
The FAC Committee members for 2019 are as follows:
Andrew Graham, Borrowell
Bram Abramson, Decentral Inc.
Brady Fletcher, TMX
Brian Mosoff, Ether Capital
Bradley Tagieff, BDO Canada LLP
George Bordianu, Balance
Geoffrey Cher, Wildeboer Dellelce LLP
John Willock, Tritum Inc.
Karim Gillani, Luge Capital
Laurence Rose, Omega ATS Inc., 4C Clearing Corp.
Lucille D’Souza, Royal Bank of Canada
Omar Soliman, Stikeman Elliott LLP
Paritosh Gambhir, KPMG LLP
Peter-Paul Van Hoeken, FrontFundr
Randee Pavalow, Regulatory and Legal Consultant
Tanya Woods, Chamber of Digital Commerce Canada
Torstein Braaten, Instinet Canada Ltd
