National regulator aims to get other provinces on board by January

Even if the other provinces agree (which remains an open question) there are a lot of moving parts that must come together to make that happen.

The agreement between B.C., Ontario and the feds, lays out the steps they envision to get the new arrangement off the ground. First, it calls for agreements with each of the participating jurisdictions by Jan. 31, 2014, setting out the terms and conditions of the co-operative system.

It plans to publish the initial draft regulations of the co-operative legislation for public comment by March 31, 2014; and, by May 30, 2014, it aims to secure an agreement with each participating province that would set out their individual terms and conditions for integrating their existing regulator into the new authority.

And, it imagines each province enacting provincial legislation, along with the complementary federal legislation by December 31, 2014.

In order to fund the transition, the federal government is pledging to “make payments to participating jurisdictions that will lose net revenue as a result of the transition to the co-operative system on a transparent basis.”

That has always been seen as a pre-condition for any national regulator to get off the ground, particularly as regulation is a source of revenue in some provinces.

The federal government would also lend money to the new authority to cover its initial funding needs during the transition period to get it operational; and, it has also agreed to pay the salaries of provincial staffers that are seconded to the new implementation organization for 24 months following the signing of the agreement (up to a certain limit to be established by the federal government).