News Release
BCSC releases strongly-supported proposals to reduce regulations
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Date:
2002-06-05 -
Number:
2002/39
Vancouver – The B.C. Securities Commission has released its proposals to reduce the regulatory burden in Canada, armed with strong support from industry and investors.
“The real problem in securities regulation isn’t the fact there are 13 provincial and territorial regulators in Canada,” said BCSC Commissioner Brent Aitken. “The real problem is that Canadian securities regulation is full of complex and rigid rules that are costly for industry but do little to protect investors.”
“Our proposals aim right at the heart of this issue – how do we impose the minimum regulatory burden necessary to provide investor protection and market integrity?” said Aitken, who is leading a BCSC team that has been working since last fall to simplify securities regulations.
Prominent among the commission’s proposals are:
- Replacing prospectuses with a continuous disclosure system that gives public companies immediate access to the market. Companies would only need to file a media release prior to issuing new securities.
- Giving investors new rights to sue market participants and others for fraud, misrepresentations and illegal insider trading.
- Replacing detailed registration rules with a code of conduct for securities firms.
Included within the BCSC proposals is the concept of allowing Canadian investors the freedom to seek out and deal with foreign brokers without making those brokers register in Canada.
The proposals come on the heels of a series of public and industry consultation sessions held in Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto and Montreal that reviewed the concept paper the commission released in February. A total of 590 people attended these sessions, representing all sectors of the industry, investors, self-regulatory organizations and other regulators.
“We received strong support from those who attended the sessions and those who took the time to send in written comments on our concepts released in February,” said Aitken. “We will be holding more sessions in the next few months and we will be presenting our proposals as the BCSC’s contribution to the national debate on how to make Canadian securities regulation more efficient and effective.”
He said that there was especially strong support for the concept of a “registration passport system” under which registrants could become registered rapidly nation-wide by dealing with only one regulator and one set of requirements.
The BCSC is accepting comments on the proposals until September 30, 2002.
The B.C. Securities Commission is the independent provincial government agency responsible for regulating trading in securities and exchange contracts within the province. Copies of the proposals can be viewed in the documents database of the commission’s website www.bcsc.bc.ca or by contacting Andrew Poon, Media Relations, 604-899-6880.