Investor Presentaiton
To remedy such situations, there are proposals to expand the protection provided by the
FISF. Others fear, however, that such an extension would incur additional costs that could
be passed on to investors. The Autorité deems, for its part, "...that it is premature to
expand compensation coverage to other industry operators such as managers. Indeed, any
protection and compensation scheme must be based on representative experience. The
situation over the past five, or even ten years must be thoroughly analyzed before the need
for a supplementary compensation plan can be established. 21″ It recommends instead first
tightening the regulatory requirements governing those operating in the mutual fund
sector.
Some experts, it should be noted, claim to be totally opposed to having compensation
mechanisms cover the risk of fraud. Not only is it difficult to establish suitable rates for such
coverage, they say, but it would encourage managers to deliberately take greater risks.
Questions
8. Do you think that mutual fund investors have sufficient coverage under the various
mechanisms in place in Québec and Canada?
9. Is it necessary to expand the FISF's coverage?
10. Is it desirable to set up a civil remedy regime on the secondary markets like the one
adopted in Ontario?
3.4. Penalties
Québec is one of the toughest provinces, along with Ontario and Alberta, in fighting white
collar crime, particularly securities-related crime. The maximum sentences that may be
imposed are five years in prison less one day and a fine of up to five million dollars. The
Authorité may exact these penalties in cases of insider trading; predatory, abusive or
fraudulent practices; and for any other financial crime covered by Section 208.1 of the
Securities Act. Despite these provisions, some observers claim that the sentences imposed
in Québec are not severe enough and don't have the desired deterrent effect. MEDAC, for
one, takes this point of view. It proposes imposing a minimum sentence of 20 years in
prison and the requirement to pay back the fraudulent gains in full. Other industry players
21
AUTORITÉ DES MARCHÉS FINANCIERS, Mémoire préparé dans le cadre des travaux préliminaires (brief
drafted during the preliminary work), p. 57
Consultation paper
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