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Securities Enforcement
MacKewn, Melissa J.
Crawley MacKewn
Brush LLP
(416) 217-0840
mmackewn@cmblaw.ca
Ms. MacKewn, a former
OSC prosecutor, advises
on securities regulatory
proceedings and corpor-
ate and securities-relat-
ed litigation, including
secondary market class
actions, corporate and
shareholder disputes,
proxy battles and cor-
porate governance.
Mark, Alan H.
Goodmans LLP
(416) 597-4264
amark@goodmans.ca
Mr. Mark focuses on
corporate/commercial
litigation including
governance, securities,
financial services and
restructuring matters;
class actions including
securities, product liabil-
ity and environmental
claims; and electricity
law and regulation.
Mathew, Douglas H.
Thorsteinssons LLP
(416) 864-0829
dhmathew@thor.ca
Mr. Mathew focuses on
civil tax litigation at trial
and on appeal as well
as the administrative
tax process. His experi-
ence extends to GAAR,
trusts, income recogni-
tion, partnerships, tax
avoidance, transfer
pricing and directors'
liability.
Maidment, Scott
McMillan LLP
(416) 865-7911
scott.maidment@mcmillan.ca
Mr. Maidment is recog-
nized for his expertise
in defending pharma-
ceutical class actions.
He has been described
as a "quite brilliant
strategist" who
"stands out for his
class action work."
Martineau, Yves
Stikeman Elliott LLP
(514) 397-3380
ymartineau@stikeman.com
Mr. Martineau is an
expert in class actions,
defending manufactur-
ers, banks, Telecom and
publicly traded compan-
ies. He deals with every
aspect of litigation, with
focus on commercial
disputes, product liabil-
ity, securities and con-
sumer law.
McDowell, William C.
Lenczner Slaght Royce
Smith Griffin LLP
(416) 865-2949
wmcdowell@litigate.com
Mr. McDowell carries
on a significant practice
focusing on commercial
law, libel and public law.
From 2005–2008, he
was Canada's Associate
Deputy Minister
of Justice.
ketplace saying, look, we are stamping out fraud and we're
making fraud a high priority for our prosecutions," says John
Fabello, a partner and litigator in the Toronto office of Torys
LLP. "is is borne out in the numbers and in the penalties
they're obtaining."
Fabello cites statistics released by the Canadian Securities
Administrators (CSA) and by individual securities commis-
sions. "For 2014, out of the total proportion of cases the
CSA brought against respondents, about 30 per cent of the
respondents were alleged to have engaged in fraud. at's
pretty significant when you consider they've got many other
categories of claims they bring forth. Look at the number of
proceedings commenced by the OSC (Ontario Securities
Commission) in 2014. About 40 per cent involved allega-
tions of fraud."
e OSC showed its determination to up the ante when
combatting fraud when it launched, in 2013, a joint serious
offences team ( JSOT) in partnership with the RCMP's fi-
nancial crime program and the OPP's anti-rackets branch.
e unit, which has the power to use wiretaps and surveil-
lance, has won jail terms against at least eight
people since its inception and has more than 10
ongoing cases.
e Ontario Securities Commission also re-
cently changed a longstanding policy against
entering into negotiated settlements when it
allowed companies, in very restrictive instances,
to enter a "no contest" plea, somewhat similar
to the deferred prosecution agreements that ex-
ist in the US and the UK. Under DPAs, some
companies in those jurisdictions can pay hey
fines (oen considered close to extortionate) for
alleged white-collar malfeasance but do not have to admit
guilt or face legal penalties.
In September 2014, Ernst & Young LLP, which was rep-
resented by Linda Fuerst, agreed to an $8-milion settlement
with the OSC regarding work it conducted for Sino-Forest
and Zungui Haixi in China. Both public companies were al-
legedly overstating their assets and revenues.
e settlement, which did not require E&Y to admit or
deny any wrongdoing, avoided the "time, expense and uncer-
tainty," around the two separate cases against Ernst & Young
that were scheduled to take place over nearly 100 days, Fuerst
said at the time.
Fabello thinks the new option, which has been allowed in
only a few instances, shows leadership by the OSC by it say-
ing that "under the right circumstances, where respondents
cooperate and provide information and have fully remedi-
ated the problem, we'll consider no admission and no con-
test settlements."
On the federal front, there also seems to be an upswing in
prosecutions under the Competition Act. In 2013, during a
"REGULATORS HAVE BEEN PROACTIVELY
GOING OUT TO THE MARKETPLACE SAYING,
LOOK, WE ARE STAMPING OUT FRAUD
AND WE'RE MAKING FRAUD A HIGH PRIORITY
FOR OUR PROSECUTIONS. THIS IS BORNE OUT
IN THE NUMBERS AND IN THE PENALTIES
THEY'RE OBTAINING."
– John Fabello, Torys LLP
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