OSC Announces Seniors Expert Advisory Committee Members for 2016 - 2017

TORONTO – The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) today announced the membership of its new Seniors Expert Advisory Committee (SEAC).

The SEAC advises OSC staff on securities-related policy and operational developments that impact older investors and will provide input on the OSC’s related education and outreach activities. OSC staff recognize the importance of consulting seniors’ experts who can provide staff with expert opinion and input to support ongoing efforts to better understand the unique needs of older investors.

Chaired by Tyler Fleming, Director of the Investor Office, the SEAC will meet approximately four to six times per year, with members serving one-year terms. The Committee members are:

Ellen Bessner
Jan Dymond
Arthur Fish
Patricia Fleischmann
Alan Goldhar
Dr. Amanda Grenier
Neil Gross
Marta C. Hajek
Patricia Kloepfer
Wanda Morris
Lindsay Rogan
Bonnie Rose
Greg Shaw
Dr. Samir Sinha
Laura Tamblyn Watts

Biographical notes

Ellen Bessner

Ellen Bessner is a litigator at Babin Bessner Spry LLP with over 25 years of experience working with investment and insurance industry participants. She is also the author of the best-selling book Advisor at Risk: A Roadmap to Protecting Your Business.

Jan Dymond

Jan Dymond is the Chair of the Vulnerable Investors Task Force at the Investment Funds Institute of Canada (IFIC) and Vice President, Public Affairs at IFIC, possessing over 35 years of communication and government-related experience.

Arthur Fish

Arthur Fish is a lawyer with over 25 years of experience working with elderly clients in both the public and private sectors. He previously worked with the Mental Competency Clinic at the Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care, served as Chair of the Ontario Mental Health Foundation, and was a member of the Consent and Capacity Board.

Patricia Fleischmann

Patricia Fleischmann is a retired veteran of the Toronto Police Service who spent the last 16 years of her career as the Vulnerable Persons' Coordinator. She is the co-chair of the National Initiative for the Care of the Elderly’s Law and Aging Theme Team. Patricia has served as an elder abuse educator for police and non-law enforcement audiences across Canada and internationally. She is also a founding member of Law Enforcement Agencies Protecting Seniors.

Alan Goldhar

Alan Goldhar has spent almost 20 years as the Chief Investment Officer for Ontario’s Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee, managing $1.5 billion in investments for more than 13,000 clients, most of whom are seniors. In 2001, he was awarded with the honour of Fellow of the Financial Planning Standards Council. Alan is also a former member of the OSC’s Investor Advisory Panel.

Dr. Amanda Grenier

Dr. Amanda Grenier is an Associate Professor at McMaster University’s Department of Health, Aging and Society and Director of the Gilbrea Centre for Studies in Aging. She has collaborated with seniors’ councils and service organizations dedicated to improving the lives of older people, including the Hamilton Age-Friendly City Project, as well as the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce Senior Citizen's Council and Black Council on Aging in Montréal.

Neil Gross

Neil Gross is the Executive Director of the Canadian Foundation for Advancement of Investor Rights (FAIR Canada). He has been a lawyer for over 30 years, during which time he has represented investors across Canada in hundreds of disputes involving every major investment product category.

Marta C. Hajek

Marta C. Hajek is the Director of Operations with Elder Abuse Ontario (EAO), an organization mandated to oversee the implementation of the Ontario Strategy to Combat Elder Abuse. Prior to joining EAO, Marta coordinated the rollout of the 211 Information and Referral Service in Ontario and served as the Executive Director of the Ontario Gerontology Association.

Patricia Kloepfer

Patricia Kloepfer is the Vice-President of Compliance and Chief Compliance Officer for Investors Group’s mutual funds and securities dealers, which actively monitors regulatory developments related to seniors and vulnerable clients.

Wanda Morris

Wanda Morris is the Chief Operating Officer and Vice-President of Advocacy for CARP. She oversees CARP’s advocacy priorities, which include retirement income security and investor protection. Wanda has been a CPA for three decades, including seven years with PriceWaterhouseCoopers in Vancouver and Melbourne, Australia.

Lindsay Rogan

Lindsay Rogan represents the Portfolio Management Association of Canada (PMAC), where she serves on the PMAC Practices and Standards Committee. Lindsay also serves as the Managing Director and Chief Compliance Officer of Rogan Investment Management Limited, where she works with senior clients and their families, often dealing with very complicated family trust, estate and tax issues.

Bonnie Rose

As Chief Executive Officer and Registrar for the Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority, Bonnie Rose leads the organization in administering the Retirement Homes Act for the protection, safety and wellbeing of approximately 55,000 seniors living in over 700 Ontario retirement homes.

Greg Shaw

Greg Shaw is the Director of International and Corporate Relations for the International Federation on Ageing. He has previously held senior management positions within the Australian Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing, where he was responsible for the regulatory regime associated with quality of care and certification programs in both residential and community care services.

Dr. Samir Sinha

Dr. Samir Sinha is the Director of Geriatrics of the Sinai Health System and University Health Network Hospitals in Toronto. He has consulted and advised governments and health care organizations around the world and is the Architect of the Government of Ontario’s Seniors Strategy.

Laura Tamblyn Watts

Laura Tamblyn Watts is a lawyer who focuses on elder law issues. She is a senior fellow at the Canadian Centre for Elder Law and a past long-time national director. She is also the past Chair of the Canadian Bar Association’s National Elder Law section. Laura is a board and founding member of the NICE network, a co-facilitator of the World Study Group on Elder Law, a member of the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments Board of Directors and former board member of FAIR Canada.

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The mandate of the OSC is to provide protection to investors from unfair, improper or fraudulent practices and to foster fair and efficient capital markets and confidence in the capital markets. Investors are urged to check the registration of any persons or company offering an investment opportunity and to review the OSC investor materials available at www.osc.ca.

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