Wednesday, May 18, 2005

Securities Omission

When I read of McMaster University awarding an honorary degree to OSC Chairman David Brown for,"his distinguished public service in the field of securities regulation on the provincial, national and international stages", several thoughts come to mind immediately.

One that I will apologize in advance for, is that I expect Michael Jackson to be similarly awarded "father of the year".

As someone who has worked under the "oversight" of the OSC for many, many years I can only conclude that David Brown must have made considerable contributions to McMaster university over the years, because I am unaware of his contributions to benefit securities regulation.

I am aware that his salary during his tenure at the OSC exceeded that of the president of the United States, as well as that of the head of the SEC in the US. Bravo David. Well done on behalf of David. Once again, an apology for the bitter tone of this, but from the position of where I stand, I see only the lives ruined, the occasional suicide, the many forms of "violence resulting from white collar crimes" that have taken place under a regulatory system that ignored, passed the buck, or declined to investigate rampant industry fraud that hurt average Canadians.

I am sorry but I must have missed the memo where the Securities Commission solved something or improved conditions for Canadians.