CANADA: Further progress towards unified Canada securities regulator

Wednesday July 16 2014

Saskatchewan’s Minister of Justice and Attorney General, and New Brunswick’s Minister of Justice, have signed an agreement to join the Cooperative Capital Markets Regulatory System for a unified Canadian securities regulator. Canada’s Minister of Finance, British Columbia’s Minister of Finance, Ontario’s Minister of Finance welcomed their participation in the Cooperative System and repeated the invitation to all provinces and territories to join the project.

The announcement follows the September 2013 agreement in principle between the Governments of British Columbia, Ontario and Canada to jointly establish a Cooperative Capital Markets Regulatory System.

The Cooperative Capital Markets Regulatory System will strengthen Canada’s capital markets by providing better protection to investors, enhancing Canada’s financial services sector, and managing systemic risk. A common regulator will administer a single set of regulations, reducing red tape for businesses, and will be self-funded through a single set of fees. It will be directed by an independent board of directors with extensive capital markets-related expertise. A Council of Ministers of all participating jurisdictions will oversee the cooperative system.

The Cooperative System will have a regulatory office in every participating province, each with the expertise to serve that jurisdiction, and in accordance with provincial language laws.

British Columbia, Ontario, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Canada will continue to work together to encourage the government of each remaining province and territory to participate in the Cooperative Capital Markets Regulatory System.

Click on the above link for more details.