Market Regulation Services Inc. published a notice in Friday’s OSC Bulletin regarding proposed amendments to the trading rules that are designed to allow multiple markets trading the same securities.

The notice indicates that, on September 29, the board of directors of RS approved for publication proposed amendments to the Universal Market Integrity Rules to accommodate the introduction of multiple marketplaces. The Rules Advisory Committee of RS reviewed the proposed amendments and recommended their adoption by the board.

Back in June 2005, RS published a Request for Comments that set out a series of proposed amendments to UMIR to facilitate the introduction of multiple marketplaces. The current amendments incorporate revisions to the original proposal based on comments received in response, as well as input from the provincial regulators.

RS is proposing to amend UMIR to conform to the requirements of the CSA regarding the obligation of a participant to consider, if appropriate, information from all marketplaces trading a particular security. However, not all marketplaces provide transparency for orders entered on that marketplace and the provisions for post-trade transparency vary between marketplaces. In addition, not all marketplaces may be accessed by either Participants or Access Persons and not all marketplaces provide fully-automated order matching and trade execution.

On September 1, RS issued guidance on the application and interpretation of these rules in the current multiple marketplace environment. RS is proposing to incorporate into the rules and policies certain aspects of that guidance.

Also, it indicates that upon the publication of any proposed amendments to the CSA trading rules concerning trade-through obligations, RS will issue additional Market Integrity Notices to request comments on proposed consequential amendments to UMIR and to provide further guidance on trading practices that may be required as a direct consequence of the final position adopted by the CSA with respect to trade-through obligations.

Comments on the proposed amendments are due by November 6.