Federal Report Calls for a National
Securities Regulator
The Expert Panel on Securities
Regulation, chaired by the
Honourable Tom Hockin, P.C.,
released its final report on January
12, 2009. The report, which reflects
the findings of a ten-month work
effort, recommends the establishment
of a single securities regulator
administering a single securities
act for Canada. The report
recommends that if, after a
reasonable period of time, a
sufficient number of provinces and
territories do not participate, the
federal government proceed to offer
market participants—issuers and
registrants—the opportunity to join
the new single national regime
directly.
Other recommendations in the report
include:
-
Establishing a single,
comprehensive system to measure
the performance of securities
regulation in Canada to promote
greater accountability;
-
Advancing a more
principles-based approach to
securities regulation
-
Exploring opportunities to
further develop risk-based
securities regulation and tailor
regulation to the size of public
companies in Canada and the
sector they operate in; and
-
Promoting fairness in the
adjudication of regulatory
matters by establishing an
independent adjudicative
tribunal.
Quebec and Alberta
remain opposed to the proposal.
Alberta's Minister of Finance and
Enterprise Iris Evans released a
statement on January 12 making clear
Alberta's opposition. According to
the Minister,
"Alberta remains steadfastly opposed
to a single federal regulator.
Securities regulation is a
provincial responsibility, and this
would be an intrusion into an area
of provincial jurisdiction. We
will continue to oppose, through all
available avenues, including legal
action if necessary, any move toward
establishing a single national
regulator." The Minister noted the
progress made with the passport
system and recommends that “the most
immediate and significant
improvement to Canadian securities
regulation would be for Ontario to
harmonize its securities legislation
with the rest of Canada and join the
passport system."
The complete version of the report
together with the draft
Securities Act, are available
at
www.expertpanel.ca.
