The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) announced the publication of its 2024 Annual Service Commitment Review.
This review outlines the service standards and timelines investors, registrants, and market participants can anticipate when engaging with the OSC.
Aligned with its fiscal year-end, the OSC evaluates its service standards annually, benchmarking them against those of other leading regulatory authorities. This evaluation enables the OSC to adjust its service standards in response to changing market conditions and other relevant factors throughout the year. The organization commits to quarterly updates on its performance against these standards, providing detailed explanations for any unmet targets on the OSC website.
In the latest review, the OSC commits to reducing response times for initial feedback on new business registration applications and amendments to prospectuses after issuing a final receipt. Over the last year, the OSC has implemented several internal measures to address the increase in registration volumes. It will continue to pursue further opportunities to manage the influx of filings, including an increase in novel and complex applications. As a result, some service standards will continue to follow extended timelines for the remainder of the 2024 fiscal year (until March 31, 2025). They will be reassessed during the next annual service commitment review.
The changes are detailed in the summary of adjustments in the 2024 Annual Service Commitment Review and took effect from April 1. The OSC has stated that all other service standards will remain as they were.
A number of factors are considered as part of the OSC’s annual review. The factors driving this year’s changes and decisions include the OSC’s responsiveness to changing market conditions and ongoing workloads in relation to regulatory operations, projects, and organizational priorities.
The OSC's primary mission includes protecting investors from unfair, improper, or fraudulent practices and promoting fair, efficient, and competitive capital markets. The Commission encourages investors to verify the registration status of any person or company offering an investment opportunity and consult the OSC's investor materials on its website.