Canada's banking and insurance regulator, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, has beefed up its work force over the course of the crisis to roughly 540 full-time employees from about 470 before the turmoil began.

In a document outlining its plans and priorities for 2010-2011 (you can read it here), the regulator says it plans to spend $109.2-million in the 2010-2011 fiscal year, followed by $123.3-million and $116.7-million in each of the next consecutive years.

The regulator spent $90.8-million in 2008-2009, and forecasts that it will spend $105.3-million in 2009-2010. (Just for the sake of comparison, Royal Bank of Canada, the country's biggest bank, employs about 77,000 people and had non-interest expenses of $14.6-billion last year.)

OSFI supervises more than 450 banks and insurers, and more than 1,000 private pension plans.

Most of the 15.9 per cent spending hike in 2009-2010 stems from new hires. OSFI identifies one of its major internal risks as "people risks," and discusses the need to retain and train good talent.

The expenditure hike in 2011-2012 comes as the regulator upgrades its Toronto office as its lease expires.