News Release
Attention
News, Business and Assignment Editors:
A panel of prominent Canadians proposes a new model for a single
Canadian securities regulator TORONTO, December 7 - The Crawford Panel on a Single Canadian Securities Regulator today released a discussion paper proposing a new model for a single Canadian securities regulator. The proposal responds to the realities of capital markets and the concerns of publicly traded companies and investors. Canada is currently the only major country in the world without a single securities regulator. "Lessening the cost of capital, the frustrations of regulatory compliance and the complexity of compliance, are shared priorities among Canadian securities regulators," said Purdy Crawford, chair of the panel and a legal authority on securities regulation. "Addressing these priorities should encourage growth by domestic and foreign companies and result in economic expansion that benefits all jurisdictions." The proposed model, outlined in the panel's discussion paper A Blueprint for a New Model, would protect and advance the political rights and responsibilities of the provinces and territories. The recommended model has five essential components that incorporate safeguards to ensure that no jurisdiction dominates or controls the single national regulator, to be known as the Canadian Securities Commission. These include: - A Council of Ministers with political accountability to the Canadian public, with participating jurisdictions being treated as equal and each minister having one vote in selecting members of the board of directors and adopting rules made by the commission
- An arm's length nominating committee appointed by participating jurisdictions and tasked with recommending qualified candidates to serve on the independent board of directors
- An independent board of directors comprised of individuals with investment, regulatory and governance expertise - the board would be responsible for oversight of the regulator and would be appointed by and accountable to the Council of Ministers
- A senior team of professional regulators with a national mandate, led by a chief executive officer, appointed by and reporting to the board of directors
- A separate adjudicative tribunal to settle disputes - adjudicators would be recommended by the nominating committee and appointed by the Council of Ministers.
The panel also recommends the development of a single and simplified securities act and a single fee structure premised on the Canadian Securities Commission being self-financing. Under the proposed model, any one province or territory could move forward the appropriate act or subsequent amending legislation that other jurisdictions would adopt by reference. The Canadian Securities Commission would also be responsible for rule making. "A single securities regulator will only succeed if it is built on existing provincial strengths and if it safeguards against domination by any one jurisdiction," said Crawford. "Our proposed model is intended to stimulate discussion with governments, capital market participants and other interested parties." To that end, early next year a series of regional roundtable meetings will be held with interested stakeholders in Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montréal and Halifax. Also, the panel will be soliciting comments on its website at www.crawfordpanel.ca. The panel was established in May 2005 by the Ontario minister responsible for securities regulation. It was tasked with recommending a model for a common securities regulator, a common body of securities law and a single fee structure. Panel members are Brian A. Canfield, chair, TELUS Corporation; Claude Lamoureux, president and chief executive officer, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board; John MacNaughton, corporate director and former president and chief executive officer, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board; Jacques Ménard, chairman, BMO Nesbitt Burns and president, BMO Financial Group, Québec; Gwyn Morgan, president and chief executive officer, EnCana Corporation; Dawn Russell, associate professor and former dean, Dalhousie Law School; and Purdy Crawford, counsel, Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP. The panel will be holding a news conference today at 11:00 a.m. (EST) to present the discussion paper at the Toronto offices of Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, First Canadian Place, 63rd Floor, 100 King Street West, Toronto. The news conference will also be accessible by teleconference. The dial-in numbers for the conference call are:
(416) 644-3427
(800) 814-4890 A copy of the discussion paper and background material is available on the Panel's website at www.crawfordpanel.ca. -30- To listen to the press conference, click here.
Media contact:
Deb Trouten
416-485-2412, 416-574-8031 (wireless)
detrouten@dakota-comm.com Other Releases of Interest June 3, 2005 http://www.mbs.gov.on.ca/MBS/english/mbs/releases/general/june0305.html P> |