Real People’s Media has previously reported on the case of David Sharpe and his battle with the Ontario Securities Commission (“OSC”). Sharpe, a proud Mohawk who lives in Tyendinaga, has faced considerable negative mainstream media coverage over the past three years. There have been significant developments since we last reported on this matter.
As I write this, another highly successful and high-profile Indigenous person and proud Mohawk is not only being labelled, but in my opinion, unfairly kicked while he’s down in the media, and by the powers-that-be at the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC). Even before a shred of evidence is heard in a courtroom, David Sharpe’s life as a successful CEO on Bay Street and champion of Indigenous economic development has been destroyed. David and his former company, Bridging Finance, have been tried and convicted in the court of public opinion, the careers and lives of many disrupted by a one-sided smear campaign, even before Sharpe and the Bridging team have an opportunity to defend themselves. There have been no formal allegations or Securities Act charges in the seven months since the OSC released compelled evidence contrary to their own statute and the protections provided by the Canadians Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
First Nations leader and constitutional expert Del Riley today called on the Ontario government to launch an inquiry into the Ontario Securities Commission’s handling of its investigation into Bridging Finance Inc. and its former CEO, David Sharpe.
