OSC Announces Ontario Minister of Finance to Participate in RegHackTO

TORONTO, Nov. 23, 2016 /CNW/ - The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) today announced that the Hon. Charles Sousa, Ontario Minister of Finance, will participate in RegHackTO (www.reghackto.ca). The event is the first hackathon by a securities regulator in Canada and brings together innovators, strategists and developers to collaborate on possible solutions to shared challenges in the regulatory environment. 

"Ontario is well positioned to become a fintech leader because of our strong financial services and technology sectors," said Charles Sousa, Ontario Minister of Finance. "Our government is committed to embracing our rapidly growing fintech sector and striking a balance between fostering innovation while ensuring investors and consumers are protected. This hackathon is another example of how the Ontario Securities Commission is supporting innovation in the fintech sector and I look forward to participating in RegHackTO."  

"RegHackTO represents a significant departure from our traditional methods of gathering input on financial regulation and it's unprecedented for a securities regulator in Canada," added Maureen Jensen, Chair and CEO of the OSC. "We want to leverage the disruption taking place in financial services, which offers real opportunities to address longstanding challenges in the regulatory environment – that's a win-win for innovators, regulators and investors."

The OSC also announced the full judging panel for the event, which includes:

• Maureen Jensen, Chair and CEO, OSC;
• Chris De Bruin, President, Digital Platform, Zafin Technology;
• Ethan Wilding, Co-Founder, Ledger Labs;
• Adam Felesky, President and Managing Partner, Portag3 Ventures GP Inc.; and
• Doug Steiner, CEO, EVREE Corp.

Speakers at RegHackTO will also include Yvan Baker, Parliamentary Assistant to the Ontario Minister of Finance and Minister Responsible for Digital Government.

RegHackTO will take place from Friday, November 25 at 5:00 p.m. through Sunday, November 27 at 2:30 p.m. at the offices of Bitmaker located at 220 King Street West, Suite 200, Toronto, Ontario.

A complete list of speakers and agenda is available at www.reghackto.ca.

Any media interested in attending the event should contact [email protected] to register.

Anyone interested in the event is also encouraged to follow #RegHackTO on Twitter.

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 http://www.osc.gov.on.ca

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SOURCE Ontario Securities Commission

For Media Inquiries: [email protected]; For Investor Inquiries: OSC Contact Centre, 416-593-8314, 1-877-785-1555 (Toll Free)