The constituencies that are being called on by Michael Phelps, chairman of the Wise Persons’ Committee, to join the fight for a national securities regulator are generally praising the WPC report, which was released today.

The Ontario Securities Commission says it supports the call for a single regulator.

“I’m certain it is no surprise that we support the call for Canada to move to a single securities regulator,” says OSC chairman David Brown.

One of the strongest responses is coming from the TSX Group Inc. Barbara Stymiest, TSX CEO says the WPC “has produced a strong, clear, unanimous set of recommendations on what needs to be done.”

“We believe that a robust national regulatory agency that can both represent Canada abroad and build on existing local and regional strengths at home will represent a real gain for every Canadian and for our capital markets,” says Stymiest.

She adds that “by clarifying the issue of constitutional jurisdiction, the committee has established a solid basis for that negotiation and for dealing with any special circumstances that need to be accommodated in a national regulatory system.”

She notes that Quebec, in particular, may require accommodation on two issues: its Civil Code, which treats commercial dealings differently from other provinces; and the primacy of the French language in Quebec.

The Investment Dealers Association says the report makes a significant contribution to the current discussion about reform to the regulatory structure of Canada’s capital markets. “We agree with the committee that the status quo is not acceptable and that changes must be substantive. We are looking for dramatic improvement, not tinkering. The bar must be set high,” says IDA president and CEO Joe Oliver

The IDA has been reluctant to declare its support for a specific regulatory model. It says the Uniform Securities Legislation proposal released yesterday by the Canadian Securities Administrators is a solid step forward, but is not yet adequate to meet the pressing needs of Canada’s capital markets. It calls on Canada’s provincial governments to act decisively and quickly.

The Association for Investment Management and Research, who members include professional money managers and analysts, also welcomed the report.

AIMR says that it agrees with the report’s key finding that a single regulator is needed to govern the securities market in Canada. According to a July 2003 AIMR member survey, three-quarters of respondents would like to see a single national regulator replace the current system.

“We hope this report will help pave the way towards an improved model for Canada, which remains the only major country without a national securities regulator,” says David Yu, CFA, co-chair of the Canadian Advocacy Committee, who also addressed the Wise Persons’ Committee in July 2003. He says the existing multi-jurisdictional system is unnecessarily complex, burdensome and costly.

The Canadian Bankers Association says it applauds the call for the creation of a single national securities regulator. ” Raymond Protti, president and CEO of the CBA says such a move “will reduce regulatory costs, enhance consumer protection and create a single Canadian voice in world regulatory negotiations.”