As cutting-edge technologies reshape financial markets, Canadian households stand to benefit from more accessible, lower-cost, and higher-quality financial services. Yet these same innovations also bring new and often unpredictable risks. With the growing influence of generative AI and the rapid evolution of capital markets, regulators face the pressing challenge of encouraging beneficial innovation while protecting investors from emerging threats.
The new researching on how Canadian securities regulations can be structured to not only detect financial fraud and abuse, but also foster promising innovations, will be led by Dr. Douglas Sarro, a Faculty member at the Centre for Law, Technology and Society and an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Law, Common Law Section. His research will probe two important dimensions of regulatory design: the goals that regulators are mandated to pursue, and the procedural rules that guide their policymaking processes. While recent consumer protection failures have revealed gaps in regulatory oversight, overly restrictive policies risk driving innovation away from Canada.
In addition to examining Canada’s regulatory experience, Dr. Sarro will compare how securities regulators operate in other advanced economies, including the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Singapore, and Hong Kong. This comparative analysis will explore how different countries structure regulatory goals and policymaking procedures, drawing lessons about what design choices could benefit Canada.
Dr. Sarro brings deep expertise to this project, drawing on both his scholarly achievements and professional experience. His research on securities law, rulemaking, and financial innovation has appeared in leading Canadian law journals and been cited before the Supreme Court of Canada. Before joining academia, he served as a senior advisor at the Ontario Securities Commission, and he continues to engage with industry practitioners as a member and Past Chair of the Advocacy Council for CFA Societies Canada.
SSHRC’s Insight Development Grants support research in its initial stages. These grants enable the development of new research questions, as well as experimentation with new methods, theoretical approaches and ideas.
Congratulations to Dr. Sarro!