The group of provincial ministers that oversee securities regulation have published a report that acknowledges the potential for a federal role in securities regulation, and also insists that the prospect of allowing advisor incorporation is on the agenda this year.
The Provincial/Territorial Council of Ministers of Securities Regulation has published an annual report detailing efforts to continue improving the provincial system of securities regulation.
In that report, the provincial ministers indicate that they believe “the federal government has a role to play in securities regulation”.
The report stresses that this role is not in the day-to-day regulation, which was allocated to the provinces by the Supreme Court of Canada in its December 2011 opinion. “The council is prepared to work with the federal government to improve how securities regulation operates in Canada while respecting provincial jurisdiction,” it says.
The report makes no mention of the recent federal budget pledge to either reach a cooperative deal to create a single regulator, or for the federal government to create its own regulator to take responsibility for areas of national importance, such as systemic risk.
In addition to the reference of a possible federal role, the report indicates that work to improve the existing provincial system continues apace. It says that in January 2012, the Council asked the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) to identify possible enhancements to the current regulatory system and to report back.
“The CSA has provided council with a list of structural improvements designed to improve the CSA internal regulatory processes, which include project management and policy committee guidelines and technology enhancements,” it says, noting that all CSA members, including the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC), have agreed to these improvements.
The report also details the work that has taken place on a number of policy issues over the past year, including the long-standing issue of whether advisors should be allowed to work through personal corporations (for tax purposes). The report says that the “ministers are committed to moving forward with the incorporation project.”
“The working group continues to consult with representatives of provincial regulators to implement a harmonized incorporation option across Canada,” it says, adding that, while Saskatchewan passed (but not yet proclaimed) incorporation-related amendments, “Other jurisdictions plan to bring forward incorporation-related amendments by 2013 at the earliest.”
Separately, it says that the provinces have committed to bringing forward legislative amendments to ensure that limitation periods do not continue to run while a plaintiff is seeking the required leave from the court to sue under the secondary market civil liability regime, “by the earliest 2013”.