Canadian Trading and Quotation System Inc. (CNQ) has received formal notice from the Ontario Securities Commission recognizing CNQ as a stock exchange.

As a result of the status change, reporting issuers in any Canadian jurisdiction can apply and be listed on CNQ without first making application to the OSC to become an Ontario reporting issuer.

“This represents an important milestone in the development of CNQ and is one that we did not expect to achieve within the first year of operation,” said Ian Bandeen, chairman of CNQ, in a news release.

The recognition order will be published in an upcoming issue of the OSC weekly bulletin.

Originally, the OSC recognized CNQ as a quotation and trade reporting system signaling an important reversal of the trend toward the consolidation of stock markets in Canada. “This is recognition of the success of our market model as much as it is a regulatory milestone. It confirms what participants in CNQ already know – that it’s a viable market for trading equity securities of active Canadian companies”, said Robert Cook, CNQ president and CEO.

Due to CNQ’s unique regulatory regime, public companies now have a clear choice between a transactions or disclosure based model. CNQ’s market uses enhanced disclosure by issuers to offer greater continuity of an issuer’s disclosure record allowing investors to make more informed decisions and gives issuers greater flexibility in the management of its business while maintaining market integrity. CNQ’s new status will not result in any material changes to its issuer policies or trading rules.