Archived - British Columbia, Ontario, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Canada Strengthen Their Commitment to the Cooperative Capital Markets Regulatory System

September 8, 2014

The Honourable Michael de Jong, British Columbia’s Minister of Finance, the Honourable Charles Sousa, Ontario’s Minister of Finance, the Honourable Gordon Wyant, Saskatchewan’s Minister of Justice and Attorney General, the Honourable Troy Lifford, New Brunswick’s Minister of Justice, and the Honourable Joe Oliver, Canada’s Minister of Finance, have signed a Memorandum of Agreement formalizing the terms and conditions of the Cooperative Capital Markets Regulatory System. Consultation drafts of uniform provincial capital markets legislation and complementary federal legislation are also being released for public comment.

On September 19, 2013, the Governments of British Columbia, Ontario and Canada announced their agreement in principle to jointly establish a Cooperative Capital Markets Regulatory System. Subsequently, on July 9, 2014, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick agreed to join the Cooperative System with the signing of an Amended Agreement in Principle, which ensures a more balanced and inclusive governance structure for all participating jurisdictions. Today’s announcement builds on those agreements and also renews the invitation to all provinces and territories to participate in the Cooperative System.

The release of the consultation drafts of the proposed provincial and federal legislation marks another important milestone in the transition towards the Cooperative System. The completion of the consultation draft of the uniform provincial legislation represents a significant achievement in the harmonization of current provincial capital markets legislation. The consultation draft of the complementary federal legislation, addressing systemic risk in national capital markets, national data collection, and criminal law matters, is responsive to and consistent with the direction provided by the Supreme Court of Canada. Together, the Memorandum of Agreement and the consultation drafts of proposed provincial and federal legislation demonstrate the ongoing commitment of the parties to work together in a collaborative manner to strengthen and streamline the capital markets regulatory framework.

The implementation of the Cooperative System will continue through a number of phases. The participating jurisdictions will work to complete draft initial regulations and the means of establishing the Capital Markets Regulatory Authority. As work continues toward the operationalization of the Capital Markets Regulatory Authority targeted by fall 2015, the participating jurisdictions reiterate their invitation to the governments of other provinces and territories to participate in the Cooperative System, which will better protect investors, support and foster efficiency, and manage systemic risk in national capital markets.

• Backgrounder: Cooperative Capital Markets Regulatory System – Memorandum of Agreement on the Cooperative Capital Markets Regulatory System and Consultation on the Cooperative Legislation
• Memorandum of Agreement Regarding The Cooperative Capital Markets Regulatory System
• Federal Capital Markets Stability Act: Draft for Consultation
• The provincial Capital Markets Act – A Consultation Draft can be found on the Cooperative Capital Markets Regulatory System website
• Commentary

• Cooperative Capital Markets Regulatory System website

Jamie Edwardson
Communications Director
British Columbia Ministry of Finance
250-356-2821

Susie Heath
Communications
Office of Ontario’s Minister of Finance
416-325-3645

Scott Blodgett
Ontario Ministry of Finance
416-325-0324

Matt Barton
Financial and Consumer Affairs Authority of Saskatchewan
306-536-8702

Lori-Jean Wallace
Director of Communications
New Brunswick’s Justice and Office of the Attorney General
506-444-2501

Melissa Lantsman
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister of Finance of Canada
613-996-7861

Stéphanie Rubec
Media Relations
Department of Finance Canada
613-369-4000