Brokerages are going to have start reporting their short positions for stocks trading on the Canadian Trading and Quotation System Inc. (CNQ), according to Market Regulation Services Inc. (RS).

In a regulatory notice issued yesterday, RS said securities firms will be required to start reporting short positions in CNQ-listed securities as of December 1. However, enforcement of the requirement will not begin until January 1, 2005.

Firms will be expected to make reasonable efforts to file the reports within two trading days of each reporting date (the 15th and the last day of each month) as soon as their organization is capable of doing so.

The notice states that filing the reports will be mandatory, whether or not the firm is an approved member of CNQ.

Short position reporting requirements for CNQ-listed securities are identical to the requirements for reporting TSX and TSX Venture Exchange listed securities, RS says.

RS notes that short positions should be determined in the same way regardless on which marketplace the security is listed or quoted.