In his opening address to the Investment Dealers Association’s annual conference in Whistler, B.C., IDA president and CEO Joe Oliver took a strong swipe at the cost of regulatory burden on the Canadian securities industry and came out firmly in favour of a national securities commission.

Oliver said that the industry needs to eliminate costs and build competitive advantages “through sound proposals and innovative ideas”.

In the “sound proposals” camp, he mentioned moves toward integrated disclosure, statutory liability for issuers’ continuous disclosure, the elimination of duplicative and outdated rules, a single set of rules across the country, and greater mutual reliance.

But, he emphasized the need for a national regulator. “I believe that the burden of proof is now squarely on those opposing a national commission, be it under federal or provincial jurisdiction, to show we can get where we must go, under the current system.” A federal regulator has been proposed and rejected a number of times. The possibility of a national regulator under provincial jurisdiction, the so-called pan-Canadian proposal, was suggested by Ontario Securities Commission chair, David Brown, last fall.

Still, Oliver left the door open for some other solution, noting that those opposing a national commission including regulators in the key provinces of Alberta, B.C. and Quebec could make their case. “They can discharge that burden [of proof,” he said, “but it is really in the national interest to set the bar high.”

Oliver went on to suggest that a consultative process towards a solution needs to be initiated, “A big part of the problem is that so many different bodies have jurisdiction over different aspects of this issue — government, regulatory bodies, SROs and the private sector. It may be that one of the things that is required is to get the representatives of those groups into one room. Everyone has a different piece of the puzzle; we need to sit down together to figure out how to put all of the pieces together in the national interest.”

Oliver suggested that regulatory reform is one of the keys for helping restore confidence in the market. “Regulators, the industry and government have to provide investors with reasons to shake off the Enron effect and embrace the opportunities that are out there for growth.”