About the Commission

The Nova Scotia Securities Commission’s (the Commission) mandate is to provide investors with protection from practices and activities that tend to undermine investor confidence in the fairness and efficiency of capital markets and, where it would not be inconsistent with an adequate level of investor protection, to foster the process of capital formation.

The Commission is comprised of up to eight commissioners who are appointed by Order-in-Council and the legal, accounting, and administrative support staff who carry out the day-to-day business and operations of the Commission under the direction of the Executive Director of Securities who is the chief administrative officer. The overall responsibility for the Commission, including its administrative, enforcement, policy and law making and adjudicative functions, rests with the Chair of the Commission who is its chief executive officer.

Chair - Valerie Seager

Valerie Seager is a lawyer who recently retired as a Vice-President - Legal and Regulatory Affairs at the Halifax International Airport Authority and previously practiced as a securities lawyer in Toronto and Vancouver.  She has been a Commissioner since 2012.

Heidi Walsh-Sampson has been a Commission Member since 2017. She is a senior business lawyer and academic with 25 years of corporate practice experience in three Canadian jurisdictions. She is also a Strategic Contracts Advisor for the National Research Council of Canada. She has served as a Commissioner since 2017. 

Current commissioners:

Tom Atkinson

Tom Atkinson served as Executive Director, Enforcement, for the Securities and Futures Commission in Hong Kong, from 2016 until 2022. Prior to joining the SFC, Tom was Director of Enforcement at the OSC, and before that he was President and CEO of Market Regulation Services Inc. Tom began his career as an Assistant Crown Attorney at the Ontario Court of Justice.  Tom was appointed as a Commissioner in August, 2023.

Jason Cooke, K.C.

Jason Cooke is a lawyer and partner with Burchell Wickwire Bryson LLP in Halifax.  He practices extensively in the areas of administrative law, professional regulation, and commercial litigation.  Jason was appointed as a Commissioner in March 2025.

Anne Day

Anne Day is a recently retired executive with more than 25 years experience working with public companies listed on the TSX and NYSE stock exchanges, primarily in the mining sector. She has experience working with investors, regulators, securities exchanges and other capital market participants, M&A, as well as with public company disclosure requirements. Anne was appointed as a Commissioner in May, 2022

Jack Lessel

Jack Lessel is a Wealth Advisor at CIBC Wood Gundy, and holds the Chartered Investment Manager designation (CIM®) and Fellow of the Canadian Securities Institute (FCSI®) designation.  Jack was appointed as a Commissioner in November 2024.

John Maxwell

John Maxwell was formerly employed with a commercial lending institution as Managing Director, Ontario Risk Management.  Prior to this he was the Atlantic Region Head with responsibility for teams in NS, NB & NL.  John has also worked for Coopers & Lybrand in Saint John and Halifax .  John is a CPA. He was appointed as a Commissioner in August, 2023.