News Release

Vancouver – The B.C. Securities Commission is holding a half-day briefing Wednesday to explain what B.C.’s new securities legislation means to business and market participants.

B.C.’s new Securities Act was passed in the provincial legislature on May 11, 2004 and the new legislation will be in force by mid-November 2004. With implementation fast approaching, BCSC staff will review what the major changes are for market participants and explain what they mean for key stakeholders, businesses and industry professionals.

More than 220 investment dealers, portfolio managers, mutual fund dealers, compliance officers, securities lawyers, and company directors and executives are among those expected to attend the half-day briefing on Wednesday, Sept. 15 from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Four Seasons Hotel in Vancouver.

Participants will hear about key aspects of the new legislation, including:

• New requirements for investment firms
• New capital-raising environment for public companies
• New investor protection measures
• New enforcement powers

Briefing participants will also learn how B.C.’s new regulatory system fits into the national securities regulatory landscape.

David Beatty, managing director of the Canadian Coalition for Good Governance and a professor at the Joseph L. Rotman School of Management, will be the keynote luncheon speaker at the event. Beatty is a recognized authority on governance in the Canadian corporate sector.

Toregister for the eventor for more information, please visit the commission’s website at www.bcsc.bc.ca. Reporters interested in attending the briefing or luncheon speaker session should contact Andrew Poon, BCSC media relations, at 604-899-6880.

The B.C. Securities Commission is the independent provincial government agency responsible for regulating trading in securities within the province.