Total fines imposed by securities regulators in 2020-21 less than half of 2019-20

TORONTO – The total amount Canadian securities regulators levied in fines, administrative penalties and other sanctions in its latest fiscal year was less than half the previous year.

In its annual enforcement report, the Canadian Securities Administrators says its members imposed nearly $20.4 million in sanctions for the 2020-21 fiscal year that ended March 31.

The total was down from nearly $45.6 million the previous year.

The drop came as the number of cases in which a final decision was reached or a settlement concluded totalled 43, down from 75 in 2019-20.

The report says regulators launched 52 cases in the last year, up from 38 the previous year.

The number of investor alerts more than doubled to 159 compared with 66 in 2019-20.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 22, 2021.