Chair & Commissioners
We have two executive and six independent commissioners:
Executive Commissioners
- Brenda Leong, Chair and Chief Executive Officer
- Brent Aitken, Vice Chair
Independent Commissioners
The commissioners have overall responsibility for administration of the Securities Act. The basic test governing the exercise of discretion under the Act is the public interest.
Commissioners perform four functions:
- Serve as the BCSC's board of directors
- Make rules (with the consent of the Minister responsible for the Securities Act), and issue guidance, to regulate the securities industry
- Oversee the self-regulatory organizations, exchanges, and other marketplaces
- Act as an administrative tribunal and make regulatory decisions under the legislation
As members of an administrative tribunal, commissioners form hearing panels to:
- Adjudicate enforcement cases brought forward by staff and, when appropriate, impose regulatory sanctions
- Review regulatory decisions made by BCSC staff, exchanges, or self-regulatory organizations, upon application by BCSC staff or persons affected by the decision
Brenda Leong, Chair and Chief Executive Officer
Executive commissioner
First appointed: October 2009
Expiry of appointment: no date specified
Prior to this appointment, Ms. Leong was the chief operating and chief enforcement officer of the BCSC, responsible for overseeing the financial and administrative affairs of the commission. She has successfully initiated and delivered results for all of the BCSC’s operating divisions, implemented significant service enhancements, and built strong relations with securities regulators in other provinces through the Canadian Securities Administrators. Brenda Leong holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Finance from the University of Alberta, Edmonton and a Bachelor of Laws from Osgoode Hall Law School, Toronto.
Brent W. Aitken, Vice Chair
Executive commissioner
First appointed: October 1995
Expiry of current appointment: no date specified
Brent Aitken is a graduate of the Faculty of Law at the University of Alberta. For 10 years he practiced law in Calgary, focusing on corporate and securities law, including mergers and acquisitions. During this period Mr. Aitken acted as counsel to the Alberta Securities Commission on a one-year secondment, and taught securities regulation and corporate finance at the University of Alberta and the University of Calgary law schools. Mr. Aitken then joined Canadian Airlines International Ltd., where he held a number of senior executive positions until the end of 1992. Appointed as an independent commissioner in 1995, Mr. Aitken became an executive commissioner in 1999, and Vice Chair in 2002.
Bradley Doney, Commissioner
Independent commissioner
First appointed: April 2008
Expiry of current appointment: March 2011
Brad Doney is a lawyer and former general counsel, director, and executive vice-president of Merrill Lynch Canada Inc. and Midland Walwyn Capital Inc. He previously was manager of market policy for the Toronto Stock Exchange. More recently, he has been a member of the Pacific District Council of the Investment Dealers Association (IDA). Mr Doney has served on disciplinary panels for three Canadian self-regulatory organizations. He has also provided expert witness and consulting services on securities market issues. He received his LLB from Queen's University. Mr. Doney is a member of the Commission's Human Resources Committee.
Kenneth G. Hanna, Commissioner
Independent commissioner
First appointed: July 2006
Expiry of current appointment: July 2012
Ken Hanna is a graduate of the Faculty of Commerce at the University of Alberta and the Faculty of Law of the University of British Columbia. He is a retired corporate finance lawyer and corporate executive. He has served as a director and member of the Audit, Corporate Governance and Compensation Committees (Human Resources) of several public companies. Mr. Hanna is also a director of Lions Gate Hospital Foundation. He was previously Chairman on the Securities Policy Advisory Committee and the Securities Law Advisory Committee, served on the Boards of the Vancouver Stock Exchange and the Canadian Venture Exchange and was a public member of the Pacific District Council of the Investment Dealers Association. Mr. Hanna built the foundation for the current education program for directors and officers of junior issuers. Mr. Hanna is the chair of the Commission’s Governance Committee.
Don Rowlatt, Commissioner
Independent commissioner
First appointed: April 2008
Expiry of current appointment: March 2011
Don Rowlatt is an economist and, effective July 1, 2009, a retired professor of finance and assistant dean in the University of Victoria’s Faculty of Business. He is also a member of the board of directors of the Provincial Health Services Authority. Mr. Rowlatt was previously vice-president of finance and operations at the University of Victoria, vice-president of administration for the University of Saskatchewan, and Saskatchewan’s deputy minister of Labour and associate deputy minister of Finance. He received a doctorate in economics from Princeton University and a bachelor of commerce in economics from the University of Saskatchewan. Mr. Rowlatt is the chair of the Commission’s Human Resources Committee and a member of the Commission's Governance Committee.
David J. Smith, Commissioner
Independent commissioner
First appointed: July 2006
Expiry of current appointment: July 2012
David Smith practised corporate/commercial law with an emphasis on securities law at Lawson Lundell LLP and its predecessor firms in Vancouver for more than 40 years. His practice focused on mergers and acquisitions, securities regulation, corporate finance, executive compensation and corporate governance. Mr. Smith is a member of the Law Societies of British Columbia and Alberta and an Institute of Corporate Directors Institute-certified Director, ICD.D. He is also a member of the Executive Committee of the British Columbia Chapter of the Institute of Corporate Directors and a director of Ballard Power Systems Inc. Mr. Smith is the chair of the Commission’s Audit Committee and is a member of the Commission's Governance Committee.
Shelley C. Williams, Commissioner
Independent commissioner
First appointed: April 2008
Expiry of current appointment: March 2011
Shelley Williams is a chartered accountant and was the vice-president and corporate treasurer of Finning International Inc. Previously, she was the acting treasurer of Crystal Decisions (now Business Objects) and the corporate treasurer of Fletcher Challenge Canada (now Catalyst Paper). Ms Williams received a bachelor of arts in economics from the University of Victoria. Ms. Williams is a member of the Commission’s Audit Committee and Human Resources Committee.
Suzanne K. Wiltshire, Commissioner
Independent commissioner
First appointed: July 2006
Expiry of current appointment: July 2012
Suzanne Wiltshire is a graduate of McMaster University and the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto. She has practised law in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario and has a broad background in business law, corporate finance and corporate governance. She gained her significant experience in corporate and securities law working primarily in the natural resources sector, including as general counsel for Westar Group. Ms. Wiltshire also has extensive administrative law experience having worked as an arbitrator and as an adjudicator in a variety of settings, most notably through her past work on the Expropriation Compensation Board of British Columbia. She is a member of the Law Societies of British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario and is also a designated Chartered Arbitrator and a member of the British Columbia Mediator Roster, Civil. Ms. Wiltshire also currently serves as a part-time member of the British Columbia Farm Industry Review Board. Ms. Wiltshire is a member of the Commission's Audit Committee.
TOP