Ms. Brenda Leong reports

NEW COMMISSIONERS APPOINTED TO BRITISH COLUMBIA SECURITIES COMMISSION

Four new commissioners -- Deborah Abbey, Deborah Armour, James Kershaw and Marion Shaw -- have been appointed to the board of the B.C. Securities Commission (BCSC).

"Deborah, Marion, Jim and Deb bring a diverse breadth of experience to the commission," commented Brenda Leong, the BCSC's chair and chief executive officer. "Their skills and expertise in law, business, corporate finance and capital markets will be tremendous assets in carrying out their duties."

Ms. Abbey was the chief executive officer of the Responsible Investment Association, where she developed education and certification programs for the financial services sector. Before that, she was the founder, president and chief executive officer of Real Assets Investment Management, which later became a Vancity Credit Union subsidiary. She was also the David Suzuki Foundation's first project director. Appointed to the Order of British Columbia in 2018, Ms. Abbey has authored two investment books and has been a regular contributor to investment and pension publications.

Ms. Armour was most recently chief legal officer of the Law Society of British Columbia, where she led the organization's professional regulation department, overseeing complaints, investigations and discipline. Prior to that, she: was the director of legal and compliance at Powerex Corp., where she implemented a regulatory compliance program; served as senior vice-president at Raymond James Ltd.; and was the general counsel of the Canadian Venture Exchange. Ms. Armour has taught ethics at the Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia (UBC). Ms. Armour holds a law degree from the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University.

Mr. Kershaw is currently the Pacific region head at TD Wealth Private Wealth Management, with responsibility for the investment management, private banking, private trust, wealth preservation and wealth advisory services teams. Prior to joining TD, he was a partner with Davies, Ward and Beck in Toronto, as well as a manager with KPMG in Vancouver. Mr. Kershaw has been an active participant for many years in various advisory roles related to investment industry self-regulatory agencies. He received a law degree from Queen's University and a bachelor of commerce degree from UBC.

Ms. Shaw was a partner and the head of the corporate finance and securities law group at Bull, Housser & Tupper LLP (now Norton Rose Fulbright LLP) in Vancouver until her retirement in 2017. Her legal practice focused on merger and acquisition transactions, equity and debt financing, corporate governance and regulatory compliance across a range of industries. Ms. Shaw received her law degree from UBC.

About the B.C. Securities Commission

The BCSC is the independent provincial government agency responsible for regulating capital markets in British Columbia through the administration of the Securities Act. Its mission is to protect and promote the public interest by fostering:

• A securities market that is fair and warrants public confidence;
• A dynamic and competitive securities industry that provides investment opportunities and access to capital.