Tariffs-Free Regulatory Importing?
Asad Akhtar
Part Four: Joint Serious Offences Team
Canadian law enforcement and securities regulators have struggled with maintaining an
active enforcement presence in sophisticated mainstream securities transactions. The Integrated
Market Enforcement Team (“IMET”), a federal task force specifically designed for these
violations, has failed to obtain any significant criminal conviction since its inception.132 The
record is particularly dire when compared to the experiences south of the border. The
collaborative efforts between the Department of Justice (“DOJ”), individual US Attorney Offices
and the SEC have netted meaningful criminal convictions on various occasions.133 A lack of
similar coordination in Canada between regulators and law enforcement has been considered
detrimental.134 Consequently, it is no surprise that the shift towards an approach mirroring that in
America has largely been met with enthusiasm.
1. Federal Government - Integrated Market Enforcement Team
In light of serious financial scandals occurring in America, the federal government
crafted the IMET unit in 2003. IMET is a collaborative effort between Justice Canada and the
RCMP, and is primarily comprised of police officers, lawyers and investigative experts.135 The
main objective of the organization is to detect, investigate and deter capital markets fraud.136 In
contrast to the role of provincial regulators, IMET is primarily responsible for enforcing and
deterring serious corporate crime.
132
Supra note 2.
New York Law School, “Deterring Corporate Crime: Effective Principles for Corporate Enforcement” (April 4,
2014) at 2, online: NYU Law . Notable investigations by the SEC and law enforcement in
uncovering complex fraud in the market includes the insider trading occurring among senior executives of Intel,
IBM and McKinsey & Company. See for more information.
134
Supra note 6 at 975-977.
135
Public Safety Canada, “Integrated Market Enforcement Teams” (accessed November 12, 2015) online: Public
Safety Canada .
136
Ibid.
133
38