Calls for change to protect older Ontarians have been made for decades by advocates for the elderly. Since the pandemic, the calls have grown louder and the issues that impact older adults garnered widespread media and societal attention. Though the urgent needs often seem to outpace the action taken to effect change, it is nonetheless heartening to see some progress underway, including recent measures geared at tackling financial abuse.
To that end, protections are being implemented by the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) with their Trusted Contact Person (TCP) reforms. Harrold Geller’s article found here reviews the matter, and notes the following two parts to TCP reforms:
- Securities dealers and their advisors must take reasonable steps to obtain from the client the name and contact information of a TCP, whom they can reach out to on the client’s behalf about diminishing capacity or potential financial exploitation.
- Dealers may place temporary holds on the client’s securities transactions where the registrant has a reasonable belief (i) of financial exploitation of a vulnerable client; or (ii) that the client lacks the mental capacity to make financial decisions.
I take away the following 5 points of interest from Mr. Geller’s further commentary on the reforms:
1. The TCP reforms are part of initiatives of the Ontario Securities Commission’s Senior Initiative and the CSA to update laws to protect investors.
2. The TCP is designed to overcome privacy barriers that previously limited the ability to protect investors in certain circumstances.
3. Though investor clients don’t have to identify a TCP to open an account, as part of the Know Your Client process, registrants are required to take reasonable steps to obtain and update TCP information.
4. Best practice is for the client to appoint a TCP who is not their attorney for property, nor a person with a financial interest in the client’s assets or estate.
5. A TCP cannot provide instructions. Only the dealer can place the hold on any transactions and a hold cannot be indefinite. It is subject to rigorous review and reporting requirements.
With more developments anticipated, we can continue to expect better protections for older and vulnerable persons.
Thanks for reading and have a great day,
Natalia Angelini