Nadia Campion

Staff of the Ontario Securities Commission alleged that the respondent engaged in illegal insider trading contrary to s. 76(1) of the Securities Act.

The respondent obtained material non-public information about a proposed acquisition of a reporting issuer and traded on it, making a profit of $125,064.

The parties entered into a settlement agreement where the respondent admitted to the misconduct, agreed to pay an administrative penalty of $200,000, disgorge his profit, pay costs of $15,000, and be subject to a 5-year market access ban.

The Capital Markets Tribunal approved the settlement, finding the sanctions fell within a range of reasonable outcomes and achieved specific and general deterrence.

Following a merits decision finding that Coventree Inc. and its senior officers, Geoffrey Cornish and Dean Tai, failed to disclose material changes in breach of the Securities Act, the Ontario Securities Commission held a hearing to determine sanctions and costs.

The Commission emphasized the fundamental importance of timely disclosure to the integrity of capital markets.

While noting mitigating factors such as the respondents' lack of intent to mislead and their cooperation with Staff, the Commission imposed significant administrative penalties to achieve specific and general deterrence.

Coventree was ordered to pay a $1 million penalty and $250,000 in costs, while Cornish and Tai were each ordered to pay a $500,000 penalty and were prohibited from acting as directors or officers of a reporting issuer for one year.