IN THE MATTER OF Natalie St-Amant - Set Date

MONTRÉAL, May 20 /CNW/ - Notice is hereby given that a hearing will be held before a Hearing Panel of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) on Tuesday June 1, 2010, at 2:00 p.m. or as soon thereafter as possible, at 5 Place Ville-Marie, Suite 1550, Montréal, in the matter of Natalie St-Amant (the Respondent).

The proposed hearing concerns matters for which the Respondent may be disciplined as a Regulated Person of IIROC, pursuant to Part 10 of IIROC Dealer Member Rule 20.

The hearing relates to allegations that:

    
    (a) In August 2005, the Respondent engaged in conduct unbecoming and
        detrimental to the public interest and failed to observe high
        standards of ethics and conduct, particularly with respect to
        Standard C of the Conduct and Practices Handbook, which relates to
        professionalism, contrary to IDA By-Law 29.1, when she purchased
        shares in public company A for her own account and directly from an
        insider, B, without prior disclosure of the projected trade to the
        firm;

    (b) From 2005 to 2006, the Respondent engaged in conduct unbecoming and
        detrimental to the public interest and failed to observe high
        standards of ethics and conduct, contrary to IDA By-Law 29.1,
        relative to the merit and relevance of investment recommendations
        made with respect to the securities of A and C, considering that the
        Respondent and representatives on the team, D and E, held these
        securities in their personal accounts, that she had purchased or
        obtained them through D, knowing that he had privileged ties with
        insiders of these companies, who were also clients of the team, and
        that as at December 31, 2005, 248 of the team's accounts held
        approximately 18.5% of the outstanding shares in A and 128 accounts
        held approximately 1.5% of the outstanding shares in C;

    (c) Between January and March 2006, the Respondent engaged in conduct
        unbecoming and contrary to the public interest, contrary to IDA By-
        Law 29.1, and failed in her duty to protect the public in the matter
        of numerous trades effected by the representative of team D in the
        securities of F and G, on the orders of the client, H, who proved to
        be a consultant to these companies, when she knew or should have
        known that the trades were or could be an indication of market
        manipulation;

    (d) In March 2006, the Respondent engaged in conduct unbecoming and
        detrimental to the public interest and failed to observe high
        standards of ethics and conduct, particularly with respect to
        Standard C of the Conduct and Practices Handbook, which relates to
        professionalism, contrary to IDA By-Law 29.1, when she purchased
        securities of C for her own account, through a representative on the
        team, D, without prior disclosure of the projected trade to the firm;

    (e) In April 2006, the Respondent engaged in conduct unbecoming and
        contrary to the public interest and failed to observe high standards
        of ethics and conduct, particularly with respect to Standards B and C
        of the Conduct and Practices Handbook, which relate to
        professionalism, and to the rules stipulated in the Handbook relative
        to the examination of complaints from three clients, I, contrary to
        IDA By-Law 29.1, when she proceeded to settle the complaints of the
        three clients in complicity with another representative on the team,
        D, by compensating the clients, the whole without the knowledge of
        the firm;

    (f) April and May 2006, the Respondent engaged in conduct unbecoming and
        detrimental to the public interest and failed to observe high
        standards of ethics and conduct, particularly with respect to
        Standard C of the Conduct and Practices Handbook, which relates to
        professionalism, contrary to IDA By-Law 29.1, when she accepted
        reimbursement from representative D of her portion of the indemnity
        paid to the clients I, which included a payment by cheque and receipt
        in her personal account of securities of a public company, C,
        directly from D, the whole without the knowledge of the firm;

    (g) In June 2006, the Respondent engaged in conduct unbecoming and
        detrimental to the public interest and failed to observe high
        standards of ethics and conduct, particularly with respect to
        Standard C of the Conduct and Practices Handbook, which relates to
        professionalism, contrary to IDA By-Law 29.1, when she participated
        in a private placement in public company J for her own account,
        through a representative on the team, D, without prior disclosure of
        the projected trade to the firm;
    

The IDA formally initiated the investigation into the Respondent's conduct on November 10, 2006. The violations are alleged to have occurred while the Respondent was a Registered Representative at the Brossard branch of Desjardins Securities Inc. The Respondent is still employed as a Registered Representative of this firm.

The hearing is open to the public, unless the Hearing Panel orders otherwise.

IIROC is the national self-regulatory organization which oversees all investment dealers and trading activity on debt and equity marketplaces in Canada. Created in 2008 through the consolidation of the Investment Dealers Association of Canada and Market Regulation Services Inc., IIROC sets high quality regulatory and investment industry standards, protects investors and strengthens market integrity while maintaining efficient and competitive capital markets. IIROC carries out its regulatory responsibilities through setting and enforcing rules regarding the proficiency, business and financial conduct of dealer firms and their registered employees and through setting and enforcing market integrity rules regarding trading activity on Canadian equity marketplaces.

For further information: Claudyne Bienvenu, Regional Director, Regulation, [phone], [email protected]; Jeff Kehoe, Acting Vice President, Enforcement, [phone], [email protected]