Government of Alberta https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/legalcode
Doug Horner
Doug Horner
The July 9 announcement from Saskatchewan and New Brunswick that they will be joining The Cooperative Capital Markets Regulatory System — a proposed federal securities regulator — raised the ire of Alberta Finance Minister Doug Horner. Horner reacted with a statement criticizing the federal government for promoting a system that Alberta has thus far refused to take part in.
“Today’s announcement confirms our long-standing fear that Ottawa will proceed with changes to Canada’s securities regulation system without the support of two of its largest markets Alberta and Quebec. This will leave Canada with a more fractured system than the one we have today. We do not believe that four provinces constitute a critical mass of support for a change of this magnitude” Horner said in a July 9 press release.
The new federal policy would create a nationwide system to regulate capital markets securities and protect investors. These markets have traditionally been monitored by the provinces but a federal plan unveiled in September 2013 would replace those commissions with a single federal regulator.
The Canadian government has said a single commission would help the Canadian economy by offering broader protection for investors streamlining regulations and cutting down on red tape.
British Columbia Ontario and the federal government have already signed on to the plan.
“The Supreme Court has ruled that securities regulation is a provincial jurisdiction so Ottawa needs to respect provincial positions…. Industry representatives in Alberta do not support the federal proposal preferring a provincially-led approach instead and the Alberta government has always been clear that it would have to see some major changes before it would consider signing on…. In the meantime we will continue our work to improve
