After reading a scathing article written by Mr. Larry Elford, we can’t help but agree with Mr. Elford in questioning whether or not Canada’s 13 provincial securities regulators are in fact running a side business.
As you will see in his article below – he reviews and then questions just how the regulators in this country can “look the other way” when it appears securities violations are blatant. His theory is candid and to the point – the over-paid executives running each of the 13 provincial regulators are paid their excessive salaries by fees and other monies that come into their offices by many of these ‘offside’ companies. Take them out and their slush funds would possibly disappear into the night.
Our immediate reaction and beliefs are more direct and to the point…these scumbags appear to ALL be in bed together and the common folk in Canada better wake up before this country sinks further into the hole it appears to be headed.
Mr. Elford’s article is as follows:
Author’s Note:
Todays Globe and Mail Nov 17, 2018, pointed out that senior executives at Bombardier who wished to sell their shares…secretly, without notifying the public as the law requires, were granted yet another exemption to our laws, which I feel the public should know of.
Most people feel we are protected by securities regulators in Canada and I would like to put forth the view that perhaps this is upside down, not true.
The $8 Billion in investment market value decline in BBD shares in the last month or so is roughly equal to about 1.5 million street crimes, at an average cost of $5000 per street crime. Most Canadians would be horrified to discover that 13 Canadian Provincial and Territorial Securities Commissions sell passes to “exempt” the laws, as easily as a high school kid sells fake concert tickets downtown. Most Canadians think securites commissions are protecting the playing field, not rigging the playing field. Most are wrong.
When exemptions were sold by Ontario Securitites Commission staffers to allow sale of unrated, illegal, Sub Prime Mortgage backed “investments”, the harm to Canada was roughly equivalent to the cost/harm done by about six million street crimes (and Canada does not even HAVE six million street crimes….those are USA sized figures for street crime) The exemptions to securities laws allowed roughly $32 Billion of unlawful securities (Asset Backed Commercial Paper) to be dumped upon unsuspecting Canadians by dealers who wished not to be “stuck” holding the junk themselves.
When Valeant Pharma was given exemptions to Canada’s laws, the end effect was 90 Billion in market cap removed from the value of this company and this was roughly equal to more street crime than one can even imagine. These organized schemes are done without public notice, without public input, and in near total secrecy. Not even the purchasers of law-exempted investment products have a right to be told. This is not regulation by any standard, but systemic financial abuse by financial professionals.
I would just like Canadians to be informed that orgainzed white collar crime is harming the land by more than all the crimes in the land….and that this is done by organized professionals, acting in secret.
Bombardier has lost $8 bil in public investment market capitalization (todays Globe) in the last month. Why? Because 12 executives needed to dump millions of shares? Why because they knew the company was failing and they wanted a chance to sell their shares before the public found out. How did they (company insiders) dump their shares in secret? They applied to the provincial securities commission (your government regulator in each province) for an “Exemption” to the laws on public disclosure. Why would the regulators sell permission to skirt the laws? Because the financial industry pays the total salaries of the regulator…even the gov regulator is industry funded. So for salaries in the $400k to 700k range (top four executives at the BC Securities Commission share roughly $2 mil for example) the financial industry gets hand-picked, handmaids, who will sell out the public interest repeatedly….Why would they do that? Because that is how self-regulated (lawless) capitalism works. Regulators do what they are told, by the industry who pays them, or they lose their six figure job. A breach of the public trust, yes, but who is going to ever know that they do this sometimes 500 times per year? $8 billion in lost public investment value is roughly equivalent to the financial cost of 1.5 million street crimes at an average harm per crime of $5000. I forget now, what was the question?
The Globe and Mail article is here