OSC announces Seniors Expert Advisory Committee members for 2024

TORONTO, Jan. 10, 2024 /CNW/ - The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) today announced the membership of its Seniors Expert Advisory Committee (SEAC) for the 2024 term.

The SEAC advises OSC staff on securities-related policy, operational, education and outreach activities that are designed to meet the needs of Ontario's older investors. OSC staff recognize the importance of consulting with a multidisciplinary group of experts who can provide staff with specialized input to support ongoing efforts and better understand the unique needs of older investors.

First launched in 2016, SEAC has provided valuable insights on and contributions to OSC initiatives supporting seniors, including the development and implementation of the OSC Seniors Strategy.  Members provide diverse perspectives on issues and challenges facing older investors, drawing on their expertise in sectors including financial services, law, law enforcement, academia, medicine and seniors' advocacy.

Chaired by Tyler Fleming, Director, Investor Office, the SEAC meets approximately four to six times per year, with members serving a one-year term.

Angela Salmon

Angela Salmon is a securities lawyer and financial services professional with over 18 years of legal, risk and regulatory experience. In progressively more senior roles at the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), Angela has provided extensive support and expertise on seniors' initiatives and complex senior client escalations. She also established a Seniors and Vulnerable Client working group that reviews and monitors regulatory developments with a view to developing and implementing policies, guidance and staff training in support of senior and vulnerable investors.

Arthur Fish 

Arthur Fish is a former partner in the tax group of Borden Ladner Gervais LLP and Manager of the Toronto Regional Family Wealth Counsel Practice. He has more than 25 years of experience working with elderly clients in both the public and private sectors and has deep expertise in issues related to mental capacity and estate planning. 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.

Danielle Tetrault

Danielle Tetrault is the Vice-President, Compliance and Chief Compliance Officer at IG Wealth Management. In these roles, Danielle leads a Seniors and Vulnerable Clients Working Group that responds to escalations involving senior or vulnerable client issues, reviews and monitors regulatory developments, industry trends and best practices to develop and implement policies, procedures, education and training resources to better serve and protect senior and vulnerable clients. She is a member of the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) Advisory Committee to the Senior Issues Committee and a former member of the Investment Funds Institute of Canada (IFIC)'s Vulnerable Investors Task Force.

Ellen Bessner

Ellen Bessner is a Partner with Babin Bessner Spry LLP with over 25 years' experience specializing in securities litigation. In addition to her work as a litigator, Ellen is the author of Advisor at Risk: a roadmap to protecting your business, and its sequel Communication at Risk: how to bridge the client-advisor gap to protect and grow your business. Ellen has extensive experience and expertise in advising registrants on working effectively with older investors. Ellen also regularly provides training and educational programs on a range of liability, ethics and compliance issues for advisors including the risks faced by vulnerable clients and how to help reduce that risk.

Jennifer Aronson

Jennifer Aronson is a Registered Social Worker and clinical practitioner with over 20 years' experience, including in the field of Geriatrics. She has expertise is geriatric care, aging and caregiving issues. Jennifer has an extensive background working with and identifying and advising on the needs of older adults and their families and educates professionals in the legal and financial communities about the challenges seniors face, including vulnerability to financial exploitation.

Jennifer Moir

Jennifer Moir is the founder of Age Well Solutions, which provides expert advice and service delivery to aging clients and families as they face difficult later life changes and choices. Age Well Solutions is also a leader in delivering competency based training for financial service professionals, with particular focus on service excellence, dementia-friendly training, practice policy and protocols and intergenerational engagement. Jennifer brings more than 25 years of experience in both the financial service and eldercare sectors and leads a highly qualified and committed team. She is a Certified Health Specialist, Certified Senior Relocation and Transition Specialist, and Elder Planning Counselor.

Dr. Joe Bornstein

Dr. Joe Bornstein is the Managing Director and Founder of Health Innovations Group. He is a recognized leader in aging and geriatrics with a strong focus on issues related to aging, healthy retirements and prevention of elder abuse. Dr. Bornstein is a Past-President of the Ontario Gerontology Association and has served on the boards of the Toronto Regional Geriatric Program and the Oshawa Senior Citizens Centres and is Past Chair of Elder Abuse Ontario. Dr. Bornstein has conducted multiple planning and evaluation projects focused on improving programs for older adults.

Dr. Julia Spaniol

Dr. Julia Spaniol is a Professor in the Psychology Department of Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), where she directs the Memory and Decision Processes Lab and holds the Canada Research Chair in Cognitive Aging.  She has over 20 years of experience studying age differences in the cognitive and affective processes involved in decision-making, with a focus on both neurobiological and behavioural mannerisms.

Ken Kivenko

Ken Kivenko is the President of Kenmar Associates, an investor advocacy organization, and is a prominent investor advocate with a focus on seniors' issues. Ken hosts a blog on his website, CanadianFundWatch.com, which informs and educates investors on investor protection issues. He is a regular contributor to regulatory consultations and commenter on regulatory effectiveness from the retail investor perspective.

Kimberly Whaley

Kimberly Whaley is the founding partner of Whaley Estate Litigation partners, a dispute resolution and boutique trust and estate firm. She is designated as a Certified Specialist in Estates and Trusts Law by the Law Society of Ontario. Kimberly serves as Civilian Co-Chair on a Toronto Police Services Consultative Committee on Abuse of Older and Vulnerable Persons, has been consulted on policy and reform under various governmental initiatives, and is a Distinguished Fellow of the Canadian Center for Elder Law.

Kyle Fitzgerald

Kyle Fitzgerald is the Director of Government Relations and Public Policy with the Alzheimer Society of Ontario. He has worked on initiatives involving legislative and regulatory change for the benefit and protection of people living with dementia and care partners, and initiatives to foster a more dementia-friendly financial services environment, including reducing financial elder abuse. Kyle is also a member of the board of the Ontario Caregiver Coalition.

Laura Tamblyn Watts 

Laura Tamblyn Watts is the CEO of CanAge, Canada's national seniors' advocacy organization. She currently teaches at the University of Toronto where she is also a Fellow of the Institute for Life Course and Aging. She serves on the Boards of the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO), the National Initiative for the Care of the Elderly, Elder Abuse Prevention Ontario and PACE Independent Living. A lawyer, Laura is a past Chair of the Canadian Bar Association's National Elder Law section, where she currently serves as an Executive Member.

Lindsay Rogan

Lindsay Rogan is the Managing Director and Chief Compliance Officer at Rogan Investment Management Limited where she has worked for 25 years with senior clients and their families dealing with planning, trust, estate, and tax issues. She is a Certified Financial Planner and a member of the Portfolio Management Association of Canada Practices and Standards Committee.

Marta C. Hajek 

Marta C. Hajek is the Executive Director of Elder Abuse Prevention Ontario (EAPO), a provincial, charitable, non-profit organization focused on supporting the implementation of The Ontario Strategy to Combat Elder Abuse since 2002. Prior to joining EAPO, Marta coordinated the rollout of the 211 Information and Referral Service in Ontario and served as the Executive Director of the Ontario Gerontology Association. Marta also was part of a 2023 delegation from the Canadian Coalition Against Ageism (CCAA) which addressed the United Nations' Open Ended Working Group on Aging (OEWGA), calling for the declaration of a UN convention on the Rights of Older Persons to ensure human rights of older persons are protected.

Michael Payne

Detective Constable Michael Payne serves as a police officer in Waterloo Region. A significant portion of his over 26 year career has been victim-focused,  investigating offences against seniors and providing education and training regarding elder abuse and financial exploitation.  Detective Constable Payne is the chair of the Waterloo-Wellington Elder Abuse Prevention Council and the vice-chairperson of Law Enforcement Agencies and Partners Protecting Seniors.

Terri Williams

Terri Williams is a financial literacy specialist with more than 30 years of experience in financial services. She held a variety of executive positions including President of the OSC's Investor Education Fund, where she led the development and implementation of financial literacy resources and programs for investors, including seniors. Now retired, Terri consults and volunteers to enhance the financial capability of Canadians and to advocate for seniors. Terri is a former member of IFIC's Vulnerable Investors Task Force.

The OSC would like to thank former SEAC members Alexis Wenzowski, Harold Geller, James (Jim) Turner, Kavina Nagrani and Keith Sjorgen for their service and contributions.

The mandate of the OSC is to provide protection to investors from unfair, improper or fraudulent practices, to foster fair, efficient and competitive capital markets and confidence in the capital markets, to foster capital formation, and to contribute to the stability of the financial system and the reduction of systemic risk. 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.ca.

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SOURCE Ontario Securities Commission