Evaluation of the Integrated Market Enforcement Teams Reserve Fund

5. Conclusions And Recommendations

This section of the report provides conclusions on each of the evaluation issues addressed in this report. Where appropriate, recommendations are included.

5.1. Relevance

The relevance of the IMET Reserve Fund resides as part of a continuum tools and measures that protect the integrity of Canada’s capital markets, including securities regulation.

All respondents believed in the relevance of the Reserve Fund and indicated that the lack of applications was likely due to the narrow scope for admissible expenses in the IMET Reserve Fund Terms and Conditions.

With the Reserve Fund limited to specifically extraordinary costs, limited opportunities to access the Reserve funding are a direct outcome of the limited number of IMET prosecutions. Prosecutors at the federal and provincial levels could benefit from opportunities to share best practices and explore knowledge exchange activities on the few IMET prosecutions that do occur.

5.2. Performance

5.2.1. Outcome Achievement

During the period covered by this evaluation, the Reserve Fund only received six applications for two cases from two provincial Crowns, making the intended outcomes of the Fund difficult to measure.

A very substantive challenge that the Reserve Fund faces in fulfilling its objective is the absence of Reserve Fund applications from Provincial Attorneys General. Some of the reasons for the lack of applications can be attributed to limited number of IMET cases where charges are laid; a general lack of awareness that the Fund does exist; the restrictive Terms and Conditions; a lack of understanding of what can be funded; and the perception of an onerous application process. The Reserve Fund acts as a backstop contingency fund for supporting the prosecution of CMF.

5.2.2. Efficiency and Economy

Considering that the Fund received limited applications, it nevertheless has been administered effectively and economically. The manager of the Fund also acts as the Secretariat for the Department of Justice representation at the IMET Executive Council Committee.

Document review and interviews emphasize the possibility of unpredictable future demand. The federal government’s efforts to combat CMF combined with provincial economic downturns could possibly encourage provincial Crowns to apply more often to the Reserve Fund.

5.3. Recommendations

In order to strengthen the contribution of the Reserve Fund, the following recommendations are submitted:

  1. The Department explore the possibility of amending the Terms and Conditions of the IMET Reserve Fund to expand the scope of the criteria for admissible expenses.
  2. The Policy Implementation Directorate re-examine the intended outcomes of the IMET Reserve Fund with a view to ensuring that they can be realistically achieved.