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Toronto – The securities regulatory authorities in Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Québec and Saskatchewan today published the underlying data used to prepare the eighth annual review of  women on boards and in executive officer positions. Data was compiled from public documents filed on SEDAR and includes the name, industry and year-end of the 625 non-venture issuers who were included in the review sample. These issuers had year-ends between December 31, 2021 and March 31, 2022, and filed information circulars or annual information forms by July 31, 2022. The data is available on CSA member websites. Data for additional issuers that were not included in past review samples has also been published today: For the balance of 2021, the 113 non-venture issuers that either (i) had year ends between December 31, 2020 and March 31, 2021 and filed information circulars or annual information forms after July 31, 2021, or (ii) had year ends between April 1, 2021 and December 30, 2021. The CSA, the council of the securities regulators of Canada’s provinces and territories, co-ordinates and harmonizes regulation for the Canadian capital markets.   For media inquiries, please contact:                                                                                                                       Ilana Kelemen                                                Canadian Securities Administrators                media@acvm-csa.ca                   Crystal Jongeward Ontario Securities Commissionmedia_inquiries@osc.gov.on.ca For investor inquiries, please contact your local securities regulator.

With title fraud on the rise across Canada, the New Brunswick Real Estate Association and the Financial and Consumer Services Commission remind real estate agents and licensees to help prevent fraudulent real estate transactions by ensuring their clients are who they claim to be.  This alert is issued during Fraud Prevention Month following recent reported cases of title fraud across Canada. Regulators across the country are warning of cases where fraudsters attempt to sell properties without the owners’ permission. Through identity theft, fraudsters are posing as the owners, listing the property with a real estate licensee and selling the home. What can licensees do to prevent title fraud? As a real estate agent and licensee, you are required under the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financial ACT (PCMLTFA) to collect specific client information and verify government issued ID. This is especially important if you don’t meet the client in person and are communicating exclusively via email or text message. You can confirm in person that the individual looks like the photo on the identification provided by checking the details such as age, height, and eye colour to make sure it matches. Where an individual is not physically present, you must verify validity of a government-issued photo identification by using a technology that can assess the document’s authenticity. FINTRAC methods to verify identity outline several approaches to meet these requirements. Below are some other suggested best practices: Get to know your client by asking the following questions: Where do you work? How long have they lived at the current address? Where have they lived previously? What is their marital status? Where do their children go to school? Take notes to record the information. Check over time to see if the information changes, which could raise a red flag.  Verify information about a seller on the property title. Look for discrepancies, such as the spelling of your client’s name or charges registered against the property.  Compare information on documents provided by your client to see if it is consistent with other information they provide you. Ask for details that a homeowner would generally know, such as how old the furnace is, when the roof was last replaced, and details about renovations.   Watch for the following red flags: Refusal to publicly list or advertise the property. Request for a quick deal. An empty or abandoned property. Unusual email address formats. Willingness to accept much less than market value. Inability to provide receipts to support renovations, utility statements, property tax bills or other documents a homeowner would have.  Be aware that these fraudsters can be extremely convincing. Always report this type of fraudulent activity to NBREA, FCNB, and local police. Using best practices for identifying your client is the best defense against this type of fraud. For more information on title fraud and other types of mortgage fraud, visit FCNB’s Frauds and Scams database or download the Blueprint to Protect Yourself Against Mortgage Fraud.  

Your career at FCNB is enriched with daily opportunities to learn, innovate, and grow professionally in a supportive, stimulating, and flexible workplace. We offer a competitive total compensation package and exciting opportunities for professional development. We support our employees in maintaining their professional designations and provide technical updates on a continual basis for many of our sectors. We offer a variety of management leadership skills training opportunities and a popular French-language program for those employees interested in strengthening or maintaining their second language. Our professional groups bring together professionals working in the same fields to offer peer support and learning.  We are currently hiring for: Senior Legal Counsel, Securities For more information about this position please visit our Career page or call the Human Resources Officer at (506) 643-7858.

Toronto – The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) is warning the public that Nova Tech Ltd (NovaTech), which operates the website www. novatechfx. com, is not registered with a securities regulator in any province or territory in Canada. This means they are not authorized to offer trading in any securities or derivatives to anyone located in Canada.  NovaTech may be operating in breach of provincial and territorial securities and derivatives law, including provisions related to unregulated trading and the illegal distribution of securities. NovaTech appears to offer investment products and trading services through its website. On February 5, 2023, NovaTech announced a temporary freeze in trading account withdrawals for a period of 60 days. On March 2, 2023, the Capital Markets Tribunal (Ontario) extended a cease trade order issued by the Ontario Securities Commission, which requires, among other things, that NovaTech temporarily ceases all trading in any securities.  Anyone trading securities or derivatives or providing investment advice in relation to securities and derivatives in Canada, including platforms that facilitate the trading of products based on forex and crypto assets, must comply with applicable securities or derivatives legislation. Investors should always check the registration of any person or business trying to sell them an investment or give them investment advice. To do this, investors can visit AreTheyRegistered.ca. For more information on how to spot and avoid investment fraud, please visit the CSA website.  Canadian investors who have been approached by NovaTech or purchased its investment products can contact their provincial or territorial securities regulator.  The CSA, the council of the securities regulators of Canada’s provinces and territories, co-ordinates and harmonizes regulation for the Canadian capital markets. For media inquiries, please contact:  Ilana Kelemen   Canadian Securities Administrators media@acvm-csa.ca    JP Vecsi   Ontario Securities Commission  media_inquiries@osc.gov.on.ca   For investor inquiries, please contact your local securities regulator.