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Earlier this year SIPA had discussions with Dan Braniff, founder of the National Front for Pension Splitting. The Common Front had experienced success in achieving their goal and were looking for a new single issue. Dan invited SIPA to meet with the Common Front in Collingwood to discuss SIPA's iniatives in their search for a new issue appropriate for the Common Front. It was decided that the new issue would be Retirement Security.
Retirement Security encompasses many of the issues that SIPA is pursuing. Certainly the loss of seniors' savings has an extreme effect on retirement security and that is SIPA's primary focus.
The new Common Front for Retirement Security (CFRS) founded by Dan Braniff already has fourteen organizations supporting this movement and represents millions of Canadian voters. This iniative will continue to grow under Dan's brilliant leadership.
A recent press release has generated media interest across Canada and internationally, and cannot escape Government and political party attention.
The CFRS has a new website under development that is being updated on a regular basis. It is available at http://www.retirementsecurity.ca/.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
SIPA submission to Secretary of State for Seniors
A joint submission by SIPA, the United Senior Citizens of Ontario and the National Pensioners and Senior Citizens Federation was deflected by the Minister's staff to the Minister of Finance.
Assuming the Ministers' staff are not on the investment industry's payroll, it must be assumed that they are not aware of the magnitude of the issue of seniors losing their savings due to systemic investment industry wrongdoing.
One has only to read the many articles in the media and/or review some of the disciplinary actions of the IDA, that reveal industry behaviour, to realize that many Canadians are being deprived of their savings by unsavoury practices by the investment industry.
The current regulatory regime is failing to protect retail investors from this wrongdoing.
Since many of the victims are seniors, we are attempting to make the Secretary of State for Seniors aware of this issue so that Government may be encouraged to take action to ensure that seniors are not financially abused.
The following is our submission:
July 19, 2007
Hon. Marjory LeBreton
Secretary of State for Seniors
The Senate of Canada, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0A4
In January this year we wrote to you stating that “Government has failed to recognize that a senior losing their savings due to inappropriate action and outright wrongdoing by the investment industry is a serious issue. The extent of these losses has been covered up for far too long. Most citizens and probably most Government employees and politicians are not fully aware of the magnitude of this problem.” A copy of the joint CCSI letter signed by the United Senior Citizens of Ontario, the National Pensioners and Senior Citizens Federation and the Small Investor Protection Association is appended.
Your staff responded saying they were directing our letter to Minister Flaherty for response. The Honourable James Flaherty is taking action regarding securities regulation in Canada and is trying to get support for a national securities regulator to replace the fractured and ineffectual provincial system now in place. A national regulator was recommended by the Wise Persons Committee in December 2003 in their report “It’s Time”, as did many others before them. Yet this intelligent move is resisted.
Meanwhile, seniors are being robbed of their savings by an investment industry that continues to develop products to create the illusion of safe investments to entice seniors, but in reality their purpose is to access the great pool of seniors’ wealth.
The current provincial regulatory regime is controlled by the investment industry and fails to protect investors. We continually hear about new financial fiascos that impoverish seniors at an alarming rate. That is why we wrote to you hoping you would champion the rights of seniors. They should be able to trust that a government regulated financial services industry would not be able to deprive them of their life savings and destroy their hopes for a comfortable retirement.
Victims are left with the only recourse being civil litigation and that right is being eroded by reduced limitation periods in many provinces.
An article by Jane Sims of Sun Media on July 18, 2007 entitled “Cheated investors tell tragic tales of losses” gives some small indication of the scope of human tragedy that is being created by a wayward industry that is not effectively regulated, which enables them to prey upon an unsuspecting trusting senior population. The article quotes only a few of the 200 victim impact statements filed in the court:
“She was an elderly pensioner who had $120,000 in savings earmarked for retirement and her children's inheritance. Before she died, she put her trust in the ___________ investments, believing they would care for her money and pay out generous interest. Instead, she lost it all. "I thank God that shortly after this investment my mother developed Alzheimer's (which) did not allow her to know what became of her life savings," the woman's daughter wrote in one of 200 victim impact statements filed to the court.”
“One man, who lost $400,000, including half the value of his home, had to return to work at age 72. Others spoke of sleepless nights, nervous breakdowns and illness since losing their savings.”
"I believe my first reactions were shock, disbelief and denial, followed by rage, resentment, guilt and then depression," one woman wrote.
"I don't know if I'll ever be able to retire," said one man who lost $803,699. "I feel I have been living in hell for the last few years."
Another man described how long it took to save the money and how quickly it was gone. "To know these people used our hard-earned money -- they even took money so far back as when I was 12 years old on a paper route.”The pain and hurt and always thinking of what was done to you just doesn't go away," he wrote.
One man said he and his wife were using the $2,000 interest paid out monthly on their ______ investment to make a special vaccine from his wife's blood to fight her leukemia. But soon the payments dried up and the investment was gone. "We tried for as long as our finances would allow . . . the treatment. It was impossible to keep up financially," he wrote. His wife has since died.
Others spoke of lost opportunities and dreams that will go unfulfilled.
Protecting seniors is not the Finance Minister’s responsibility and it should not be a provincial jurisdiction. All Canadians should have the right to be protected against harm.
Unfortunately, the protection of investors has been abdicated to the industry that is literally robbing seniors of their savings.
We are asking for your help.
Yours truly
Stan Buell, President
Cc Rt Hon. Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada
Hon. James Flaherty, Minister of Finance
Hon. Robert Nicholson, Minister of Justice; Attorney General of Canada
Mrs. Marie Smith, President United Senior Citizens of Ontario
Mrs. Judith Muzzi, Past President United Senior Citizens of Ontario
Mr. Art Field, President National Pensioners and Senior Citizens Federation
Assuming the Ministers' staff are not on the investment industry's payroll, it must be assumed that they are not aware of the magnitude of the issue of seniors losing their savings due to systemic investment industry wrongdoing.
One has only to read the many articles in the media and/or review some of the disciplinary actions of the IDA, that reveal industry behaviour, to realize that many Canadians are being deprived of their savings by unsavoury practices by the investment industry.
The current regulatory regime is failing to protect retail investors from this wrongdoing.
Since many of the victims are seniors, we are attempting to make the Secretary of State for Seniors aware of this issue so that Government may be encouraged to take action to ensure that seniors are not financially abused.
The following is our submission:
July 19, 2007
Hon. Marjory LeBreton
Secretary of State for Seniors
The Senate of Canada, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0A4
In January this year we wrote to you stating that “Government has failed to recognize that a senior losing their savings due to inappropriate action and outright wrongdoing by the investment industry is a serious issue. The extent of these losses has been covered up for far too long. Most citizens and probably most Government employees and politicians are not fully aware of the magnitude of this problem.” A copy of the joint CCSI letter signed by the United Senior Citizens of Ontario, the National Pensioners and Senior Citizens Federation and the Small Investor Protection Association is appended.
Your staff responded saying they were directing our letter to Minister Flaherty for response. The Honourable James Flaherty is taking action regarding securities regulation in Canada and is trying to get support for a national securities regulator to replace the fractured and ineffectual provincial system now in place. A national regulator was recommended by the Wise Persons Committee in December 2003 in their report “It’s Time”, as did many others before them. Yet this intelligent move is resisted.
Meanwhile, seniors are being robbed of their savings by an investment industry that continues to develop products to create the illusion of safe investments to entice seniors, but in reality their purpose is to access the great pool of seniors’ wealth.
The current provincial regulatory regime is controlled by the investment industry and fails to protect investors. We continually hear about new financial fiascos that impoverish seniors at an alarming rate. That is why we wrote to you hoping you would champion the rights of seniors. They should be able to trust that a government regulated financial services industry would not be able to deprive them of their life savings and destroy their hopes for a comfortable retirement.
Victims are left with the only recourse being civil litigation and that right is being eroded by reduced limitation periods in many provinces.
An article by Jane Sims of Sun Media on July 18, 2007 entitled “Cheated investors tell tragic tales of losses” gives some small indication of the scope of human tragedy that is being created by a wayward industry that is not effectively regulated, which enables them to prey upon an unsuspecting trusting senior population. The article quotes only a few of the 200 victim impact statements filed in the court:
“She was an elderly pensioner who had $120,000 in savings earmarked for retirement and her children's inheritance. Before she died, she put her trust in the ___________ investments, believing they would care for her money and pay out generous interest. Instead, she lost it all. "I thank God that shortly after this investment my mother developed Alzheimer's (which) did not allow her to know what became of her life savings," the woman's daughter wrote in one of 200 victim impact statements filed to the court.”
“One man, who lost $400,000, including half the value of his home, had to return to work at age 72. Others spoke of sleepless nights, nervous breakdowns and illness since losing their savings.”
"I believe my first reactions were shock, disbelief and denial, followed by rage, resentment, guilt and then depression," one woman wrote.
"I don't know if I'll ever be able to retire," said one man who lost $803,699. "I feel I have been living in hell for the last few years."
Another man described how long it took to save the money and how quickly it was gone. "To know these people used our hard-earned money -- they even took money so far back as when I was 12 years old on a paper route.”The pain and hurt and always thinking of what was done to you just doesn't go away," he wrote.
One man said he and his wife were using the $2,000 interest paid out monthly on their ______ investment to make a special vaccine from his wife's blood to fight her leukemia. But soon the payments dried up and the investment was gone. "We tried for as long as our finances would allow . . . the treatment. It was impossible to keep up financially," he wrote. His wife has since died.
Others spoke of lost opportunities and dreams that will go unfulfilled.
Protecting seniors is not the Finance Minister’s responsibility and it should not be a provincial jurisdiction. All Canadians should have the right to be protected against harm.
Unfortunately, the protection of investors has been abdicated to the industry that is literally robbing seniors of their savings.
We are asking for your help.
Yours truly
Stan Buell, President
Cc Rt Hon. Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada
Hon. James Flaherty, Minister of Finance
Hon. Robert Nicholson, Minister of Justice; Attorney General of Canada
Mrs. Marie Smith, President United Senior Citizens of Ontario
Mrs. Judith Muzzi, Past President United Senior Citizens of Ontario
Mr. Art Field, President National Pensioners and Senior Citizens Federation
Joint N.P.S.C.F./SIPA/U.S.C.O. submission to FinanceMinister
For the last couple of years SIPA has worked closely with the United Senior Citizens of Ontario and the National Pensioners and Senior Citizens Federation to raise awareness of the issue of seniors losing their savings due to widespread investment industry wrongdoing.
Jointly our three organizations have made a number of submissions and presentations to government. The following is our submission to the Minister of Finance in June this year.
June 10, 2007 by e-mail to: Flaherty.J@parl.gc.ca
Honourable James Flaherty
Minister of Finance
Dear Minister;
In January we wrote to the Hon. Marjory LeBreton, Secretary of State for Seniors
stating that our organizations represent approximately one million seniors in Canada and that we are concerned that Government has failed to recognize that seniors losing their savings due to inappropriate action and outright wrongdoing by the investment industry is a serious issue.
We also said the recent income trust fiasco is only one of the many situations that vividly illustrate the propensity of the investment industry to develop innovative products that create the illusion of good investments. Small Investors, and in particular seniors, are being deceived and sold products that are eminently unsuitable for most of them.
In January we asked that the Honourable Le Breton meet with our delegation to discuss our concerns. We received a reply stating our request was forwarded to you.
Also in January this year we wrote to the Standing Committee on Finance stating “The Income Trust Probe should hear from organizations that represent the interests of seniors and other small investors as well as representatives of the investment industry. Our organizations represent about one million seniors and investors across Canada and we have affiliated to raise awareness of the issue of financial elder abuse. We have made presentations to the Standing Senate Committee on Banking Trade and Commerce, and the Ontario Standing Committee on Justice Policy. We have also participated in a Coalition for Investment Protection to make recommendations to the Quebec Government.”
It is unacceptable that the protection of investors is left in the hands of a regulatory regime that is controlled by the industry. This is a conflict of interest. Although securities regulation is a provincial responsibility it is time that Canada has a national regulator, but also time that our national Government takes action to protect all Canadian retail investors so that seniors will have retirement security.
With the trend moving away from defined benefits pension plans towards defined contributions plans, and the fact that many Canadians do not have any private pension plan and rely upon their Registered Retirement Savings Plans it is becoming imperative that investors are protected so they do not lose their savings due to widespread wrongdoing that appears systemic in the investment industry today.
In May 2005, the OSC held a Town Hall Event in downtown Toronto at 7:30pm anticipating that 100 to 150 people would turn out based upon the time and location and their knowledge of events. In fact about 500 people turned out to express their frustration and anger with the current state of affairs with regard to investment industry regulation and the lack of investor protection and adequate means to have their complaints addressed. A copy of the transcript of that event is appended for your staff to review and report to you.
In an Ottawa media conference on April 26, 2007, our three associations jointly requested a national inquiry on the malfunctioning of Canada's securities and accounting regulation and white collar crime enforcement system.
We support the campaign to tackle investor protection and unchecked white collar crime in Canada launched on May 24, 2007 by Judy Wasylycia-Leis, Federal NDP Finance Critic and Member of Parliament for Winnipeg North.
We are asking that all federal parties support immediate work on the creation of new federal legislation and agencies to protect investors and employee whistleblowers.
The retirement security of our members, and all Canadians, is at stake.
We ask that you meet with our delegation so that we may brief you on our concerns and learn what action you are taking to address this unacceptable situation.
Yours truly
Art Field, President National Pensioners and Senior Citizens Federation (N.P.S.C.F.)
Stan Buell, President Small Investor Protection Association (SIPA)
Marie Smith, President United Senior Citizens of Ontario (U.S.C.O.)
Cc Rt Hon. Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada
Hon. Marjory LeBreton, Minister of State for Seniors
Jointly our three organizations have made a number of submissions and presentations to government. The following is our submission to the Minister of Finance in June this year.
June 10, 2007 by e-mail to: Flaherty.J@parl.gc.ca
Honourable James Flaherty
Minister of Finance
Dear Minister;
In January we wrote to the Hon. Marjory LeBreton, Secretary of State for Seniors
stating that our organizations represent approximately one million seniors in Canada and that we are concerned that Government has failed to recognize that seniors losing their savings due to inappropriate action and outright wrongdoing by the investment industry is a serious issue.
We also said the recent income trust fiasco is only one of the many situations that vividly illustrate the propensity of the investment industry to develop innovative products that create the illusion of good investments. Small Investors, and in particular seniors, are being deceived and sold products that are eminently unsuitable for most of them.
In January we asked that the Honourable Le Breton meet with our delegation to discuss our concerns. We received a reply stating our request was forwarded to you.
Also in January this year we wrote to the Standing Committee on Finance stating “The Income Trust Probe should hear from organizations that represent the interests of seniors and other small investors as well as representatives of the investment industry. Our organizations represent about one million seniors and investors across Canada and we have affiliated to raise awareness of the issue of financial elder abuse. We have made presentations to the Standing Senate Committee on Banking Trade and Commerce, and the Ontario Standing Committee on Justice Policy. We have also participated in a Coalition for Investment Protection to make recommendations to the Quebec Government.”
It is unacceptable that the protection of investors is left in the hands of a regulatory regime that is controlled by the industry. This is a conflict of interest. Although securities regulation is a provincial responsibility it is time that Canada has a national regulator, but also time that our national Government takes action to protect all Canadian retail investors so that seniors will have retirement security.
With the trend moving away from defined benefits pension plans towards defined contributions plans, and the fact that many Canadians do not have any private pension plan and rely upon their Registered Retirement Savings Plans it is becoming imperative that investors are protected so they do not lose their savings due to widespread wrongdoing that appears systemic in the investment industry today.
In May 2005, the OSC held a Town Hall Event in downtown Toronto at 7:30pm anticipating that 100 to 150 people would turn out based upon the time and location and their knowledge of events. In fact about 500 people turned out to express their frustration and anger with the current state of affairs with regard to investment industry regulation and the lack of investor protection and adequate means to have their complaints addressed. A copy of the transcript of that event is appended for your staff to review and report to you.
In an Ottawa media conference on April 26, 2007, our three associations jointly requested a national inquiry on the malfunctioning of Canada's securities and accounting regulation and white collar crime enforcement system.
We support the campaign to tackle investor protection and unchecked white collar crime in Canada launched on May 24, 2007 by Judy Wasylycia-Leis, Federal NDP Finance Critic and Member of Parliament for Winnipeg North.
We are asking that all federal parties support immediate work on the creation of new federal legislation and agencies to protect investors and employee whistleblowers.
The retirement security of our members, and all Canadians, is at stake.
We ask that you meet with our delegation so that we may brief you on our concerns and learn what action you are taking to address this unacceptable situation.
Yours truly
Art Field, President National Pensioners and Senior Citizens Federation (N.P.S.C.F.)
Stan Buell, President Small Investor Protection Association (SIPA)
Marie Smith, President United Senior Citizens of Ontario (U.S.C.O.)
Cc Rt Hon. Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada
Hon. Marjory LeBreton, Minister of State for Seniors
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