Should market whistleblowers get a bounty?

The Ontario Securities Commission is proposing a system of rewards or "bounties" for people who blow the whistle on wrongdoing in the securities markets. The Commission is considering granting whistleblowers up to $1.5 million for original, credible information that leads to a settlement or sanction.

Proponents like Harold Geller say the system will protect consumers by protecting whistleblowers. He is a lawyer with McBride Bond Christian LLP and he also sits on the Ontario Securities Commission Investor Advisory Panel.

In the present situation, it would be rare indeed that we would urge somebody to come forward and be a whistleblower because of the risk to themselves, both in prosecution for their culpability and the fact that they would likely lose their livelihood.- Harold Geller

Critics, including Mark Morrison, say the program will make market malfeasance profitable. He is a lawyer with Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP. 

They can also be sitting there, watching some conduct germinate, and rather than actually putting a stop to something, right at the start, let things move along because they decide they want a lake place somewhere.- Mark Morrison