Ontario's FSRA to establish a consumer advisory panel

The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) is forming a consumer advisory panel that would help inform the body’s work.

A release explained that the panel will provide perspectives from consumers – including pension beneficiaries, credit union members and the general public – on planned FSRA policy changes. The panel will also assist the regulator’s consumer office in serving as the voice of the consumer within FSRA.

The nine members of the panel are:

• Sharon Altman-Leamen – Director of the Canadian Federation of Pensioners and a member of its advocacy team. Co-founder and SVP of Yellow Pages Pensioners Canada.
• Kristian Bonn – VP of the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association, which is focused on advocating for the rights of those who suffered injury and loss resulting from the wrongdoing of others.
• Anish Chopra – Former chair of the CFA Society of Toronto, has served on the Board of Directors of the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA) Canada, the Canadian Accounting Standards Board, and as a community member on the Ontario Judiciary Council. He has over 20 years of industry experience.
• Rhona DesRoches – Chair of the board of FAIR Association of Victims for Accident Insurance Reform. She has 25 years of industry experience from a consumer perspective.
• Hitesh Doshi – Professor at Ryerson University. Chair of the Consumer Advisory Council of Tarion, Ontario’s New Home Warranty Program. Chair of the City of Toronto’s Technical Advisory Group on Green Roofs.
• Roger Gauthier – Formerly served on the Forum de Concertation de Desjardins. Current board member of the Fédération des caisses populaires de l’Ontario, as well as several other credit unions/cooperatives.
• Harold Geller – Current lawyer serving investors and the insured. Member of the Ontario Securities Commission’s Senior Expert Advisory Group and the Ombudsman of Banking and Investment’s Consumer and Investor Advisory Council. Serves on the Executive Committees on Elder Law for both the Canadian and Ontario Bar Associations, and on the Canadian Bar Association’s Executive Committee on Insurance Law.
• Robert Gouley – Has provided commentary and advice on investor protection issues and regulatory proposals. Has led the Canada Advocacy Council of CFA Societies Canada and was the chair of the Canadian Securities Traders Association.
• Laura Tamblyn Watts – Public policy lawyer with 20 years of expertise in the aging, financial, disability and consumer sectors. Founder and national director of the Canadian Centre for Elder Law, and chief public policy officer at CARP. Founder of CanAg, a non-profit representing seniors. She is also teaching at the University of Toronto in the Institute for LifeCourse and Aging, and the Factor Inwentash Faculty of Social Work.

“The Consumer Advisory Panel will help ensure that consumer perspectives inform FSRA’s direction and decisions, a key priority for FSRA,” said FSRA executive vice-president, policy and chief consumer officer Glen Padassery. “The panel is an important part of FSRA’s stakeholder engagement process as we work to deliver on our mandate to protect the public interest, and safeguard public confidence and trust in financial services in Ontario.”