The head of Quebec’s securities regulator, Jean St-Gelais, warns that the creation of a national securities commission would negatively impact economic development in Quebec.

In a speech to the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal on Tuesday, St-Gelais, president and CEO of the Autorité des marchés financiers and chairman of the Canadian Securities Administrators, argued that the creation of a national securities commission “would focus decision-making authority in one major centre and shift high value-added activities outside Québec, ultimately leading to a loss of financial expertise in the province.”

He added that the creation of a national regulator would deprive Quebec, “of significant leverage for development and its financial activities in Montreal would be further undermined.”

“We cannot afford to lose the decision-making authority we have in matters pertaining to financial regulation. We cannot give others the green light to determine Quebec’s needs in financial sector regulation and oversight,” he said. “Ontario has grasped the importance of a regulator as a drawing card for the financial community of Toronto. If it’s so important for Ontario, why would it be any less so for Québec?”

He also cautioned that such a move would “unleash a real threat” to the province’s financial firms, and in particular that it would represent a threat to the derivatives sector, which is a specialty that Montreal has cultivated.

He called on participants in the province’s financial sector to mobilize against the federal government’s proposal. “The debate needs to be broadened beyond political and constitutional considerations. That’s why I am calling on you today to help reject the federal government’s proposal. We don’t need a single securities commission,” concluded St-Gelais.

IE