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have enough resources to pursue cases? Part of the problem in Canada is re- sources are fragmented and scattered among 13 regulatory commissions. In the U.S., there is one national body, the SEC, with more resources and indepen- dence and is assisted by state attorneys general. Still, over time, resources at the OSC and other commissions have improved. Moreover, the OSC is self- financing, raising money from fees and fines. If it needs more resources, it can simply levy more fees on the business community to get them. Another issue seems to be account- ability. No one seems to actually de- mand regulators justify their track records. "The main problem with the regulatory approach is there is very little qualitative information [about] how effectively the regulatory system is working," says Marilyn Pilkington, a professor and former dean at Osgoode Hall Law School and co-author of a respected 2006 report on securities en- forcement. "There are reports on files opened and complaints settled, but that doesn't give you any sense how the reg- ulatory system is working. There is no qualitative information, and we said we need more qualitative assessment." Former OSC chairman Ed Waitzer agrees. "When is the last time a head of OSC, any other regulators, or the RCMP and other police forces were hauled up before a legislative committee and asked, 'Here is what you said you would do, and what have you actually done?'" he observes. "Nobody is accountable for performing. We can talk a big game but don't have to deliver. On the other side, if you are a fraudster, after a while you don't take the system very seriously be- cause the execution isn't there." Then there are the laws. To obtain a criminal conviction, the standard of proof is very high. But most securities fraud cases are nuanced, complicated, and rarely black and white. This was true in the Bre-X case, as the OSC discovered when it went after former head geolo- gist John Felderhof. He was accused of profiting from the calamity by cashing in stock just before the fraud was uncov- ered and pocketing $84 million as well as issuing misleading press releases to the public. The OSC also said there were a series of "red flags" Felderhof should have noticed. But the case went poorly for the commission: its first prosecutor was removed, its attempt to get the judge replaced failed, and key witnesses were weak on the stand. David Baines, a Vancouver Sun busi- ness columnist who investigates chica- nery on Howe Street, says it's almost impossible in Canada to get everyone on the same page to get a conviction. "You need to get the investigation arm, Crown, and judiciary all to agree on a case," he remarks. "You never get those three. It breaks down at one or more stages." What about experience? Do the regu- DD CL HRTHRDE S&R 02 ad 12/3/07 4:58 PM Page 1 lators have enough seasoned lawyers to wade into the fray? After all, swindlers go out and hire people like Joe Groia who not only are talented litigators but have probably forgotten more se- curities law than most others will ever know. The lawyers who work for the OSC or the federal Department of Jus- tice, by comparison, are invariably not as battle-hardened. The solution most bandied about to remedy this state of affairs is creating a national securities agency, one that isn't so incestuously tied to the business community — a Canadian SEC, if you will. For now, this remains a pipe dream. Canada has become too decentralized in its provincial fiefdoms for this notion to be realized any time soon. Until it does, though, Canada's regulators will contin- ue to look like a bunch of Keystone Cops. "It's deeply embarrassing to go to the In- ternational Organization of Securities Commissions meetings and see repre- sentatives of the regulatory commissions for France, the United Kingdom, and the U.S., and then you see one from Ontario, Québec, B.C., Alberta, and all of the oth- er provinces," says former OSC chair- man Jim Baillie. "I find it terribly embar- rassing because it suggests we can't get it in order." Don't know where to look? Dye & Durham's Search & Registration Services collects information on existing corporations, business names and trademarks. We provide data relating to Corporate and Business Name History, Certificates of Status, P.P.S.A. Searches and Registrations, Bankruptcy, Bank Act, Writs of Execution, Bulk Sales, Motor Vehicle, Registrar General Searches, Real Estate and Litigation. We also provide name searches required for incorporation or business registration for all provinces through the NUANS database. 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