FSCO appoints interim superintendent

In the wake of the retirement of Dina Palozzi, former CEO and superintendent of the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO), Phil Howell will fill the position on an interim basis. The announcement brought praise from the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC), which had asked that the appointment be made from within the province’s Finance Ministry, reports Mark Yakabuski, vice president, Ontario, for the IBC.Howell is currently the assistant deputy minister and chief economist for the Office of Economic Policy within the Ministry. Among his department’s responsibilities is co-ordination of Ontario’s auto insurance policy with FSCO. “He is already familiar with the issues facing our industry,” says Yakabuski in a press release. “He has been one of the chief architects of the government’s budgetary policy and has dealt with the industry on numerous occasions regarding our pre-budget submissions and taxation proposals.”IBC hopes the appointment will lead to greater streamlining of policy development between the Ministry and FSCO. The IBC also wants auto policy review to fall under the auspices of the Ministry, Yakabuski notes, and has stated this as part of its submission on the proposed merger of FSCO with the Ontario Securities Commission.IBC expects to be involved among other stakeholders in the province’s decision on the appointment of a permanent superintendent.