Complaints about Companies

If you have a complaint about an investment you made in a company or concerns about the conduct of a company, its directors, or officers, you have a number of options. 

Complaints About Conduct of a Public Company

If you have a complaint about an investment you made in a company or concerns about the conduct of a company, its directors, or officers, you have a number of options.

Determine Which Regulator Has Jurisdiction

If a public company is reporting in a number of provinces, the primary regulator is usually the province where the company has its head office or principal place of business. You can search a public company’s name on SEDAR+ and its profile will generally list its principal regulator.

• Determine which regulator handles the type of complaint you have:
• When a public company in B.C. wants to raise money by selling its securities, it must follow the requirements of the Securities Act. The BCSC is responsible for enforcing the Act and is charged with investigating and acting against market misconduct by B.C. companies selling securities, or companies from outside B.C. selling securities to B.C. investors.
  
  The BCSC and Canada’s other provincial securities commissions have delegated regulatory authority to certain industry organizations and stock exchanges. These self-regulatory organizations establish and enforce rules for the protection of investors and promote fair, equitable, and ethical practices among market participants. The SROs are also responsible for industry compliance with securities law.
• If your complaint is about a trading-related matter involving a company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) or the TSX Venture Exchange (TSX Venture), you can send your complaint to the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO).
  If your complaint is about the disclosure practices of any company listed on the TSX or TSX Venture Exchange, you can file it directly with them:
  TSX – info@tsx.com
  TSX Venture Exchange – complianceservices@tsxventure.com

Complaints About an Investment in a Private Company

Although private companies may not have to file a prospectus with the BCSC to sell their securities, they must comply with the Securities Act, which limits how and to whom they can sell their securities. Our private placements section explains what private companies must do to legally raise money in private transactions and the risks of investing in private companies. If you believe that a private company has broken any of these rules in selling you its securities, contact the BCSC.

Under the Securities Act, a purchaser can take action if there was a misrepresentation in a company’s disclosure documents, or the purchaser did not receive a required disclosure document. Although the BCSC enforces the Securities Act, we cannot order financial compensation for investor losses. To pursue financial compensation, you must go through the courts. Review the Seeking Financial Compensation page for more information on this topic.