New office to develop national Securities Act

The federal government is setting up an office to help move toward a national securities regulator, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said Monday.

The office will develop the federal Securities Act, collaborate with provinces and territories — which regulate securities today — and develop a transition plan to cover organizational and administrative matters, the government said in a release.

The national regulator "will enable Canada to respond swiftly and efficiently to developments in the financial sector and speak with one voice internationally," Flaherty said.

However, Alberta and Quebec have disputed the need for a national regulator, and the federal government acknowledged that by saying it "intends to work collaboratively with provinces and territories that are willing to participate."

Flaherty reiterated the rationale for a single regulator: clearer national accountability, stronger enforcement, better service for investors and lower barriers within Canada.

Doug Hyndman,  chair of the British Columbia Securities Commission, will be the chair and CEO of the transition office. Bryan Davies, chair of the Canada Deposit Insurance Corp. and before that a top Ontario financial regulator and Royal Bank executive, will be the vice-chair.

"We will be able to better identify risks on the horizon and work together to address them," Davies said.

Hyndman said the new regulator should produce "strong and cost-effective investor protection delivered through regional offices that are connected to regional economies and integrated in a national structure."

In works since January

The Conservatives promised on Jan. 27 that they would set up a transition office to ease the way from provincial to national regulation.

That promise followed a report early this year that advocated a single regulator.

The global financial crisis heightens the need for a national regulator, said former Conservative cabinet minister Tom Hockin, who headed the panel that prepared the report.