Securities regulators are proposing a sharp increase to the fees that registered firms and issuers pay to fund the operation of the regulatory filing systems, including SEDAR+ and the National Registration Database.
The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) is proposing to hike the fees charged specifically for the regulatory filing systems, starting in 2025 with a 60% jump, followed by 3% annual increases through to 2029.
“The proposal is intended to better align system fee revenues with projected national systems operating costs,” the CSA said.
According to a notice setting out the proposals, regulators currently collect approximately $22 million in annual fees for these systems. That total is projected to jump by $13 million in November 2025.
While the CSA’s systems continue to operate on a cost-recovery basis, the CSA noted that labour costs in the IT sector have risen by between 35% and 45% in recent years, alongside rising IT and cybersecurity costs.
“These system fee increases are necessary to ensure sufficient funding to operate the CSA’s national systems over those five years,” it said.
In its notice, regulators said that while the benefits of the proposed fee changes, “cannot be accurately quantified, we are of the view that these benefits outweigh the costs as the continuing operation of the CSA national systems is critical to transparency and efficiency in the Canadian capital markets.”
Alongside the planned sharp hike in fees, the CSA said that it’s also reviewing whether these systems can be built and operated, “more effectively and efficiently.”
“As part of that review, the CSA is developing a long-term strategic plan for the national systems that considers use of the latest technology tools and alternative operating models,” it said.
The proposed changes are out for comment until Feb. 19, 2025.