News Release

Released: May 7, 1999 Contact: Wendy Sullivan
899-6500 or
(BC only) 1-800-373-6393

Toronto - Dealers, advisers and other market participants should consider implementing a moratorium on systems changes at some point after completion of Y2K testing, until a time early in the Year 2000, say the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) in a recent staff notice.

Staff of the members of the CSA ("CSA staff") believe that market participants need to ensure the ongoing integrity of their internal systems once they have become Year 2000 compliant while at the same time ensuring that their systems meet the changing needs of their businesses. CSA staff are of the view that a moratorium would help minimize the risk of invalidating remediation efforts and test results.

Many organizations currently implement an annual systems modification freeze for their fiscal year end period to ensure that nothing interferes with year end processing and the production of year end reports. Some organizations have already announced publicly their decision to implement a freeze to address the added risk of Year 2000 compliance.

In light of the above, CSA staff are recommending a series of best practice guidelines for market participants. The first is that market participants should consider introducing a moratorium on major system upgrades for a period extending from at least October 1, 1999 until the end of February 2000. The best practice guidelines also cover other issues such as control procedures for changes and Year 2000 certification for all changes undertaken.

CSA staff plan to monitor developments and concerns expressed by industry participants to assess whether voluntary adoption of a moratorium is sufficient or whether a mandatory moratorium would be appropriate for certain market participants.

This initiative complements the work currently underway by the CSA to promote, manage and monitor Year 2000 readiness throughout the securities industry.

The CSA, comprised of the thirteen provincial and territorial securities regulatory authorities, administer the Canadian Securities Regulatory System to protect investors and give Canada an efficient and effective securities market.

For more information contact:

Mark Conacher
Director, Corporate Relations
Ontario Securities Commission
(416) 593-8073

Wendy Sullivan
Chief Examiner
British Columbia Securities Commission
(604) 899-6752

Denis Dubé
Manager, Public Relations
Commission des valeurs mobilières du Québec
(514) 940-2150 ext. 4441

Dave Herbert
Director, Information Technology
Alberta Securities Commission
(780) 422-0348