In the past few years, the global economy has witnessed a financial and credit crisis resulting in a so-called global recession. In Canada, while the impact of the "crisis" was less severe than in other countries, it was significant enough to warrant the government's attention and purported intervention, in an attempt to (among other things) decrease the risks to Canada's capital markets and to protect investors. In the last year, the federal government has introduced new proposed securities legislation and made amendments to the Canadian Criminal Code. With respect to common law claims, while Canada has not seen a significant direct correlation between the financial crisis and an increase in civil claims, securities class actions appear to be on the rise and courts are arguably demonstrating a more "plaintiff-friendly" approach to the use of such actions as a supplement to regulation to achieve behaviour modification. Published in
Corporate Securities and Financial Law Report, Vol. 16, No. 3.
Bennett Jones