In McCabe v. British Columbia (Securities Commission), the British Columbia Court of Appeal upheld the ability of the B.C. Securities Commission (the "Commission") to penalize McCabe, a resident of British Columbia, for writing and publishing reports promoting shares in a Nevada company. The B.C. Securities Commission had issued a notice of hearing alleging that McCabe had made misrepresentations contrary to the B.C. Securities Act. McCabe had applied for a stay of proceedings on basis of forum non conveniens, arguing that the Commission lacked jurisdiction. The B.C. Court of Appeal held that that the Commission's jurisdiction depends on whether there was a real and substantial connection between the impugned conduct and B.C. In this case, the offence was committed when the statement was made and the reports were written by a B.C. resident, who was paid in B.C. for his services. This case confirms that the Commission possesses broad jurisdiction to regulate conduct in B.C. as well as outside of B.C.
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