The B.C. Securities Commission announced June 3 it issued its first whistleblower award, more than two years after launching a program that brings it in line with most capital markets regulators.

The commission stated it awarded $25,000 to “an individual whose information contributed to an ongoing enforcement action into suspected misconduct.”

The commission has set an award cap of $500,000, depending on factors such as how quickly the information was reported, how much it contributed to the investigation, and the seriousness of the misconduct.

While multiple awards can be granted to one person, the cap for one award is $250,000.

“The more valuable your information is, the more we may pay you,” said commission chair and CEO Brenda Leong in a statement.

Launched in November 2023, the new whistleblower program aims to disrupt misconduct more quickly.

Most securities regulators have such programs. The B.C. program offers far less than the maximum $5 million offered by the Ontario Securities Commission or the tens of millions that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may dish out, on account of B.C.’s capital markets being dominated by junior companies and small-scale ventures, as opposed to larger public companies.

The commission uniquely pays awards for ongoing enforcement matters rather than at the conclusion of a hearing.

The awards remain anonymous and the commission does not disclose what enforcement action resulted from the information.

However, anonymity is far from guaranteed.

The commission will be required to share a whistleblower’s information or identity to respondents when it issues a hearing notice.

The commission must also disclose an identity to another agency or person when it receives a demand that legally requires it to do so or when the Privacy Commissioner orders it to do so.

As such the payments occur within the commission bureaucracy out of public scrutiny.

Business in Vancouver asked the commission if it intends to independently audit the program.

The commission engages a firm to provide independent internal audit services and its own audit and risk committee meets quarterly to review internal controls, commission spokesperson Elise Palmer told BIV via email.

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