The federal government is determined to push ahead with the creation of a single national securities regulator, regardless of whether or not it gets support from all provinces and territories, the finance minister reaffirmed.
The federal government is determined to push ahead with the creation of a single national securities regulator, regardless of whether or not it gets support from all provinces and territories, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty told the House of Commons Finance Committee on Wednesday.
“I’ve been advocating a common securities regulator for a long time, with limited success,” Flaherty told the committee. He said that the proposed regulator will be structured so that in operates in accordance with a 2011 Supreme Court decision. The Court then ruled that previously proposed legislation on a single regulator was unconstitutional, saying that it infringed upon some areas of provincial jurisdiction.
“We all have constitutional responsibilities in the area of securities,” he told the Committee. “But the federal government has a systemic responsibility for systemic risk across the whole country in terms of the securities market.” While the federal agency would deal with systemic risk, the provinces have “day-to-day regulatory responsibilities” such as enforcement.
The statement reaffirms a commitment made in the 2013 budget to establish a common securities regulator established cooperatively with provinces and territories.
Canada is the only major advanced economy without a national securities regulator. The government believes that pooling provincial, territorial and federal jurisdiction and expertise, would create a have regulatory regime would that allows the country to better compete in global capital markets.
