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INVESTOR RIGHTS MONITOR
Insights You Can Use, Advocacy You Can Trust.
February 2026
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CIRO’s Data Breach – Where Are The Regulators?
On January 14, 2025, nearly six months after a major cyberbreach occurred, the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) released a public statement providing guidance to the approximately 750,000 affected clients. While this guidance was clearly necessary, we question if investors could have been notified earlier so that they could take immediate steps to protect themselves. Such delays put investors at risk and erode confidence in a regulatory system that is supposed to be designed to protect them.
This incident also highlights concerns with how securities regulators collect, retain and store personal information. Securities regulators have access to personal and financial information of all investors. While it is essential to have such access in order to fulfill their regulatory mandate, any organization entrusted with that level of responsibility must adhere to the highest cybersecurity standards and practices.
The breach also raises questions about the Canadian Securities Administrators’ (CSA) oversight of CIRO. As a self-regulatory organization, CIRO is operating under delegated authority from the CSA. Shortly before the data breach, the CSA completed an oversight review of CIRO’s IT systems but did not identify any findings or weaknesses with CIRO’s cybersecurity practices. While an oversight review cannot reasonably be expected to identify all vulnerabilities and risks, this breach should at least prompt the CSA to re-examine its oversight approach of CIRO and remedy any potential shortcomings.
To restore investor confidence, we would like to hear from the CSA. We would like to know that the CSA is actively monitoring CIRO’s response to the breach, requiring CIRO to implement improved cybersecurity practices, reviewing and improving their own cybersecurity practices and reassessing their oversight program of CIRO. Investors must know that the primary regulator accountable to the public is fully engaged, transparent, and taking decisive steps to prevent similar incidents from occurring again.
FAIR Canada will continue to advocate for stronger investor protections and for an effective regulatory framework that prioritizes the interests of investors.
JP Bureaud, CEO, FAIR Canada
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CIRO'S Data Breach -- What Investors Should Do Now
In response to CIRO’s cyberbreach, FAIR Canada issued a public advisory outlining immediate steps for investors affected by the CIRO breach. Through our website, social media accounts and our newsletters, we will continue to provide practical guidance and updates to help investors who have been subject to the data breach.
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New Brunswick Adopts a Flawed Title Protection Framework
Title protection was supposed to ensure that anyone calling themselves a financial planner or financial advisor meets a minimum standard of competence. Instead, the framework allows multiple credentialing bodies with widely varying standards to issue credentials to people who want to use these titles.
The result? Someone with limited education and who only took a course to sell life insurance or mutual funds can call themselves a “financial advisor.”
Although investors ultimately pay for the framework, they get very little in return. We raised the same concerns with Ontario’s proposal, including exposing how little consumer protection the framework actually delivers.
We will continue to advocate for meaningful change to proficiency standards so they genuinely align with what investors expect from those calling themselves advisors.
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Improving the OSC’s 2026-27 Priorities for Investors
The OSC’s 2026-27 Statement of Priorities sets their regulatory agenda for their fiscal year, including what issues they will focus on, what reforms they will advance and how they plan to address risks facing investors. These priorities directly impact retail investors.
While generally supportive, FAIR Canada is calling on the OSC to do more to:
- Improve its priority-setting process by presenting clearer objectives, specific actions to achieve those objectives, and key performance metrics to measure its results;
- Play a leadership role to adopt harmonized and timely complaint handling standards across Canada and implement the OBSI binding authority into law;
- Examine compensation structures, proprietary product shelves, and sales pressures across all dealer types, not just bank branches;
- Enhance CIRO oversight of OEO firms, including their relationship with finfluencers and their digital engagement practices;
- Collect data to evaluate the impact of expanding retail investor access to long-term, illiquid private assets and determine whether and how its proposals will impact the real economy; and
- Address account transfer delays.
We’re also calling on the OSC to pause any further delegation of authority to CIRO until the CSA has:
(a) Reviewed CIRO cybersecurity practices,
(b) Assessed whether the benefits of SRO consolidation outlined in the CSA Position Paper has been achieved, and
(c) Developed a long-term vision for Canada’s securities regulatory framework that better serves the public interest and protects investors.
View the comment letter here.
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Allowing EMDs to Participate in Selling Groups is a Bad Idea
FAIR Canada raised significant concerns with the CSA proposal that would allow exempt market dealers (EMDs) to participate in selling groups for prospectus offerings. EMDs do not help mitigate underwriting risk, cannot provide the same level of support to issuers as investment dealers, and are not able to provide ongoing advice to investors, leading to inconsistent treatment.
We are also concerned with the fact that the CSA previously considered amending National Instrument 31-103 Registration Requirements, Exemptions and Ongoing Registrant Obligations to permit this activity, but ultimately decided against it. Using a blanket order to make this change now not only contradicts the CSA’s earlier decision, but it’s also not the right tool for such a major policy shift.
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Investors Benefit from Stronger Investment Funds Liquidity Rules
We support the CSA’s proposal to strengthen liquidity risk management requirements for investment funds. Investment funds are the most common type of security held by retail investors. Clear, enforceable standards help ensure that investors can access their money when they need it, especially during periods of market stress, and reduce the risk of losses when funds struggle to sell assets quickly.
These safeguards are becoming increasingly important as regulators consider expanding retail access to longer-term or less liquid investments through fund structures. We welcome the CSA’s commitment to aligning its approach with global regulatory standards. Read our comment letter here.
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Crypto Regulation in the UK: Where Does Canada Stand?
On January 8, 2026, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) released its “crypto roadmap,” setting a clear path to bring crypto assets under full financial regulation. It includes:
- Authorization gateway: Crypto Trading Platforms (CTPs) can formally apply for FCA approval from Sept. 30, 2026 to Feb. 28, 2027.
- Comprehensive rules—consumer duty, conduct standards, custody, prudential and disclosure requirements, market-abuse rules, and competency standards—effective Oct. 25, 2027.
Why It Matters for Canada
The CSA was a global leader in regulating CTPs, building a regulatory framework through exemptive relief orders, Pre-Registration Undertakings (PRUs), and terms and conditions. While this approach enabled a more rapid response, it has its drawbacks.
CTPs today are subject to different standards depending on whether they are CIRO members, registered directly with provincial securities regulators, or remain unregistered but subject to PRUs. And despite the CSA’s stated expectation in 2021 that all CTPs would become CIRO members, it did not establish a national deadline for that to happen. Adding further complexity to the regime, new services, like lending or staking, are handled through ad hoc exemptions or terms and conditions. Meanwhile, a more permissive U.S. environment risks pushing Canada toward innovation‑first policies at the expense of investor protection.
The CSA demonstrated early leadership in this area but it may now be time to reconsider Canada’s approach and move towards a consistent set of standards and oversight of CTPs within prescribed timelines.
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Protect Yourself from AI-Driven Investment Scams
The Alberta Securities Commission (ASC) recently warned that investment scams are getting harder to spot as fraudsters adopt new AI-powered tactics. These schemes increasingly use realistic impersonations, private group chats, and social-media-style promotions to look credible and build trust quickly. To learn more about these types of investment scams, click here.
As these tactics evolve, we continue to push for stronger oversight of digital misconduct and better protections for investors. But while regulators work to keep pace, investors can take important steps to protect themselves.
Before you invest:
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Verify registration of the individual or company using the CSA’s National Registration Search
- Be cautious of unsolicited pitches, private-group invites, or “exclusive” opportunities
- Slow down — urgency is a common red flag
- Walk away from anything you don’t fully understand or can’t independently confirm
If something feels off, trust your instincts. Staying informed is one of the best ways to protect yourself.
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New on Our Website: Explore Our Articles Page
We’ve launched a new Articles page designed to make it easier to find and share content from FAIR Canada’s newsletters. The page brings together individual articles in one accessible location so you can quickly revisit specific pieces, follow ongoing issues, and share updates with others.
This new page complements—rather than replaces—other key areas of our website. Our Submissions page remains the central hub for our policy positions and recommendations to regulators and governments, and our Investor Resources section continues to provide practical guidance for Canadians navigating financial decisions.
Going forward, all newsletter articles will be added to the Articles page, giving you another convenient way to explore our commentary and advocacy work.
Discover what we’re working on — and why it matters: Explore the articles page here.
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Do you have feedback on our newsletter or suggestions for topics you’d like us to write about? Your input is valuable and will help us improve our newsletter content for loyal subscribers like you. Please email us at info@faircanada.ca with your comments and/or suggestions.
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