Ontario To Launch Global Risk Institute

by Mike Godfrey, Tax-News.com, Washington

20 September 2010

The government of Canada, in partnership with the government of Ontario, has announced plans to launch the Global Risk Institute (GRi) in Financial Services in Toronto. The initiative is being launched to ‘build on Canada’s growing reputation for financial risk management’, the government said.

According to the government, with links to Canada’s leading universities and recognized risk experts around the world, the institute will integrate applied research and education across multiple risk management disciplines. In addition, it will also help foster a sound understanding of risk by collaborating with regulators, risk experts, academics, policy makers and practitioners.

The federal and provincial governments are each providing CAD10m (USD9.7m) towards the institute’s initial funding. In addition, private sector donors have made initial pledges of approximately CAD2.5m annually to the GRi.

The institute is the first initiative resulting from a comprehensive financial services sector strategy designed to attract new jobs and investment. The strategy, initiated by the Toronto Financial Services Alliance, and unveiled in November 2009, will support the sector’s competitiveness and growth, and is aimed to establish the Toronto region as one of the top 10 financial centres in the world.

“The institute will leverage Canada’s strong financial record and reinforce our financial sector brand,” said Jim Flaherty, Canada’s Minister of Finance. “The government of Canada is committed to building on the strengths of our financial system. We have been a world leader throughout the global financial crisis, and initiatives like the one being launched today [September 13] will only add to our international reputation.”

“Ontario’s contribution will help us capitalize on our strong record in the financial services sector and our highly skilled and diverse workforce. The leadership provided by the institute will help ensure the financial services sector remains a growth engine for our province that will continue to create thousands of high-paying jobs and protect the interests of consumers and investors,” added Dwight Duncan, Ontario’s Minister of Finance.

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