National Securities Regulator in Progress
January 14, 2009 |
Brooke Smith
Thomas Hockin, chair of the Expert Panel on Securities Regulation, addressed the Economic Club of Canada today in Toronto about the panel’s report, which was released earlier this week.
Securities regulation helps to ensure that the markets work efficiently, said Hockin. “And that’s important to Canadians: young people, entrepreneurs and international investors.”
A national securities regulator will have fewer rules, less red tape and high-level principles, Hockin said. And, he added, it will use proportionate-based regulation. Smaller companies, for example, may face excessive costs to meet regulations that are designed for larger companies. “There are 1,700 public companies in B.C. [alone] with $10 million market cap or less,” he said, noting the report’s emphasis on small companies.
Although national in scope, the regulator will have a decentralized structure, with regional offices. For example, if you’re in Ontario, then you’ll be dealing with the people you already know, he explained.
Hockin hopes that with this proposal as many provinces as possible will jump on the regulator bandwagon. However, if, after a specified period of time, that’s not the case, he says market participants of those provinces that avoid assent will be able to opt in directly. “[Market participants] will have the opportunity to reap the benefits of a national securities regulator.”
To read the final report and recommendations, click here.
To comment on this story email brooke.smith@rci.rogers.com.
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