The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that financial criminals can declare bankruptcy and avoid punitive fines issued by securities regulators, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled. The Globe's Jameson Berkow writes that in a reversal of two lower-court decisions, Wednesday's judgment ends a decade-long legal saga and places substantial limits on the enforcement powers of market watchdogs across Canada. The case is critical for securities regulators who struggle to collect many of the fines they impose on people who commit fraud and other violations. Securities-law experts say the ruling will now require Parliament to help regulators by amending the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. Thal and Sharon Poonian were previously ordered by the B.C. Securities Commission to pay more than $19-million after the regulator learned they had manipulated the price of a TSX Venture Exchange-listed oil and gas stock called OSE Corp. in 2008. The regulator ordered the Poonians to return $5.6-million to investors and pay $13.5-million in penalties. The couple declared bankruptcy in 2018, and argued that should allow them to avoid making any payments to the commission; two subsequent court rulings rejected those arguments.