Securities Regulation

A primary objective of this course is that students obtain a solid grounding in the basic concepts of Ontario securities law, as well as an understanding of the underlying policy objectives that regulators and decision-makers seek to achieve in implementing and interpreting statutory provisions.  Students should also develop some appreciation of how the requirements of securities law shape and influence business transactions and the activities of public issuers, as well as how courts and regulators deploy securities law concepts and policies in resolving disputes.  Participants will also be introduced to a variety of intellectual perspectives that critique or support current precepts of doctrine.  By the end of the course, students should be well positioned to recognize and apply the relevant securities law doctrines and concepts in the context  of examples of business transactions or activities, to understand the various roles that securities lawyers play as advisors to issuers or as litigators of securities law disputes, as well as to analyse the policy goals underlying securities law requirements.  For those students who do not necessarily intend to practice securities law, the expectation is that the course will provide a working knowledge of key aspects of capital markets operation and their governance by law.