To support the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario's (FSRA) mandate of protecting consumers and ensuring public confidence in FSRA’s Regulated Sectors, FSRA has developed a Whistle-blower Program aimed at protecting Whistle-blowers who come forward, on a confidential basis, with information related to Misconduct.

Through a secure process and pursuant to specific powers under the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario Act, 2016 (FSRA Act), FSRA aims to protect Whistle-blowers from the harms associated with disclosing information related to Misconduct in FSRA’s Regulated Sectors.

If you are an individual or entity who has primarily non-public (i.e., insider) information about Misconduct in FSRA’s Regulated Sectors and want to come forward on a confidential basis, FSRA wants to hear from you. 

In coming forward, you may be eligible for protection under the FSRA Act, which includes protection of your identity from disclosure, immunity from civil proceedings and protection against reprisals (e.g., being fired, demoted or disciplined, etc.).

Whistle-blower

 

Who is a whistle-blower?

Not everyone who provides information to FSRA is a Whistle-blower. A Whistle-blower is an individual or entity who:

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has primarily non-public information related to Misconduct in FSRA’s Regulated Sectors

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comes forward in good faith

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requests that FSRA keep their identity confidential

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receives a written assurance of confidentiality from FSRA

Only individuals or entities who receive a written assurance of confidentiality from FSRA will benefit from the protections under the FSRA Act and the Whistle-blower Program.

If you wish to remain completely anonymous, you may choose to retain a lawyer to provide the information to FSRA on your behalf.

For a full list of eligibility requirements and more information about FSRA’s assurance of confidentiality to Whistle-blowers, please refer to FSRA’s Whistle-blower Guidance.

If you have publicly available information and/or are dissatisfied with a product or service that you have received from an individual or an entity FSRA regulates, you are a Complainant and not a Whistle-blower. Generally, Complainants are not employees or persons with inside knowledge of the individual or entity providing the product or service. Submit a complaint to FSRA.

Examples of who may be eligible for Whistle-blower protections

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an employee of a FSRA-regulated entity who learns, through their involvement in a specific project or communication, that discriminatory sales practices/tactics are being used on members of the public

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a board member of a FSRA-regulated entity suspects that management is or may be misappropriating investors' money or corporate profits

 

Whistle-blower protections

FSRA recognizes that Whistle‑blowers are a valuable source of information about Misconduct in FSRA’s Regulated Sectors, but that they may be reluctant to come forward due to fear of reprisal, reputational damage or other potential harms.

As a result, FSRA will take all reasonable efforts to maintain the confidentiality of a Whistle-blower’s identity and information, including relying on specific provisions in the FSRA Act specifically designed to protect Whistle-blowers.  

Whistle-blowers will be able to rely on the following protections:

Anonymous submissions

If you wish to provide information to FSRA’s Whistle-blower Program and remain completely anonymous, you can retain a lawyer to submit information on your behalf. In this case, FSRA will never know your identity. You must review the Whistle-blower Submission Form with your lawyer and either provide the requested content to your lawyer in writing or confirm the content before your lawyer submits the content to FSRA’s Whistle-blower Program using the lawyer submission option below.

 

Submission process

FSRA encourages individuals and entities with primarily non-public information related to Misconduct in the Regulated Sectors to submit this information though FSRA’s Whistle-blower Program. Whistle-blowers can submit information on their own, or completely anonymously through a lawyer.

 

Submit

Submissions checklist

Before you or your lawyer submits information to FSRA’s Whistle-blower Program, please ensure the following:

  1. you have primarily non-public information related to Misconduct in FSRA’s Regulated Sectors
  2. you are coming forward in good faith
  3. you are requesting FSRA maintain your identity in confidence
  4. you have reviewed FSRA’s Whistle-blower Guidance in full
  5. you have the details of the Misconduct, including any supporting document in your possession, ready
  6. you are not using a work computer or email address

If you are a lawyer submitting information to FSRA’s Whistle-blower Program on behalf of a client, please also:

  1. ensure that you have reviewed the Whistle-blower Guidance and explained it to your client
  2. ensure that you have either received from your client the content of the Whistle-blower Submission Form or your client has reviewed the content before you submit the information to FSRA
  3. confirm with your client that the information you will provide on their behalf to FSRA’s Whistle-blower Program is to the best of their knowledge, true and complete
  4.  verify the identity of your client through valid government issued photo ID
  5. confirm that you are authorized to interact with FSRA on your client’s behalf, including accepting an assurance of confidentiality should it be offered

Ready to submit?

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have you reviewed FSRA’s Whistle-blower Guidance?

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do you understand the situations in which FSRA may be required to disclose your identity?

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FSRA will only accept submissions online

Please note that once you click on one of the submission options below, you will be redirected to a secure submission form provided by a third-party. The third-party will maintain your information in strict confidence and only FSRA’s investigations team will have access to your personal information. Please note that after 60 minutes of inactivity, your session will automatically time out and your progress will not be saved.