Securities • Issues & Advocacy

Page Index
PDAC’s position on securities regulatory reform in Canada
Chronology
PDAC Securities Committee 

There is growing support and momentum for Canada’s securities regulatory system to be overhauled. The PDAC believes that the most effective way to do this is to:

1. institute a regulatory system administered by one regulator, applying one set of rules in a consistent manner across Canada. The single regulator does not need to be an agency of the federal government, nor based in Ottawa. However, it does need to be close to financial centres, removed from political influence, innovative and responsive to market needs, and cognizant of sector and regional interests.

2. develop securities laws which: provide junior issuers with access to capital on a timely, effective and cost efficient basis; restore and maintain public confidence in the capital markets; and include disclosure and reporting obligations that strike a balance between protection of the investing public and ensuring that the maximum amount of a company’s financial and managerial resources are available for mineral exploration and development work.

The current system
Junior mineral exploration companies account for about 25% of Canada's publicly listed companies. These companies raise small amounts of money during the course of numerous successive financings.

Legal requirements under securities laws vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Ensuring compliance with each of them is time consuming and expensive because companies must retain professional advisors in each jurisdiction of filing.

To reduce costs, most PDAC member companies raise money in only two or three provinces. This means that residents of the other regions in Canada are excluded from participating in the financing.
One regulatory body with one set of rules, consistently and efficiently applied, would reduce redundancies in the current system, lower the cost of financings and ongoing compliance, and ensure all potential Canadian investors have equal opportunity to participate.

A full version of the PDAC’s position is available here.

October 6, 2008 The PDAC submits written comments to the Expert Panel on Securities Regulation in Canada on the panel’s stakeholder report, released in August. Making reference to the PDAC’s 2007 membership survey, the association presents its position that “a single regulator with meaningful regional representation should be the ultimate goal of the reform process.” Topics covered in the submission include principles-based securities regulation; the securities regulatory structure; and proportionate securities regulation. Click here for the PDAC’s submission.

August 2008 The Expert Panel on Securities Regulation in Canada publishes a stakeholder report link to summarizing the views presented to the panel during face-to-face meetings held between April 21 and July 15, 2008.

May 28, 2008 Securities chair Gregory Ho Yuen addresses the Expert Panel on Securities Regulation in Canada on the regulatory features that affect mineral exploration and responds to panelists’ questions.

February 21, 2008 Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announces the establishment of an Expert Panel on Securities Regulation in Canada. The mandate of the panel is “to provide independent advice and recommendations to ministers—federal, provincial and territorial—on the best way forward to improve securities regulation in Canada.”

November 2007 PDAC releases results of membership survey conducted by Angus Reid Strategies indicating strong support for a single national securities regulator and for the introduction of a separate set of securities laws for junior companies that are less complex, costly and time-consuming than existing laws. Click here for the news release announcing the survey and full survey results.

September / October 2007 Angus Reid Strategies conducts detailed survey of PDAC members on Securities Regulatory Reform.

June 29, 2007 On March 30, 2007, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) published for comment revised National Instrument 52-109 Certification of Disclosure in Issuers’ Annual and Interim Filings and its Companion Policy (the “New Proposals”). On June 29, 2007 the PDAC responded to the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA)’s following specified question with regards to venture issuers: “Do you agree that the ICFR (internal control over financial reporting) design accommodation should be available to venture issuers? If not, please explain why you disagree.” Our response can be found on the following link.

June 26, 2007 On June 26, 2007 the PDAC responded to the Ontario Securities Commission request for comments on the proposed National Instrument 31-103 (NI 31-103) and its Companion Policy, the NI-31-103’s proposed Exempt Market Dealer (EMD) registration requirements. Please follow the link to the letter.

May 29, 2007 The Ontario government’s refusal to join the passport system for securities regulation unless other provinces agree to its terms is criticized. Full story.

May 25, 2007 Sherritt International chairman Ian Delaney criticizes Canada’s inability to create a national securities regulator. “The balkanized system,” he is quoted as saying, “means Canada is one of the few countries in the developed world that does not have a national commission.” Full story.

May 25, 2007 Federal New Democratic Party calls for Canada to set up a national securities commission to crack down on corporate crime. Full story.

June 19, 2006 Canada’s Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, speaking to the Halifax Chamber of Commerce, says that now is the time for Canada to work together for a common securities regulator with a governance model that ensures more effective participation by all of this country’s jurisdictions. Full copy.

December 22, 2005 PDAC sends its views to Ontario’s Crawford Panel. This panel, working independently, is to recommend a securities regulatory framework that features a common securities regulator, a common body of securities law, and a single fee structure.

November 29, 2005 PDAC makes a submission to the Investment Dealers Association’s Task Force to Modernize Securities Legislation in Canada.

October 20, 2004 Ipsos-Reid poll shows that 75% of 688 investor relations officials and company directors in Canada support need for single, national securities regulator. Globe and Mail and National Post stories.

June 2004 The PDAC issues its position paper on how the current system of securities regulation should be improved.

September 17, 2003 In a speech in Toronto, Douglas Hyndman, chairman of the B.C. Securities Commission, endorses the principle of a securities regulatory passport as proposed by the provincial ministers' steering committee.

September 5, 2003 The Canadian Securities Administrators announce a plan to create a more formal and structured organization, including the creation of a policy coordination committee and the establishment of a permanent three-person secretariat in Montreal. Click here for Globe and Mail story.

September 1, 2003 Canadian Listed Company Association outlines its views on the current securities reform debate in its September newsletter.

July 15, 2003 An abstract of the PDAC's presentation on the inter-provincial securities initiative.

July 10, 2003 OSC pans B.C. regulatory plan, article in Globe and Mail.

June 27, 2003 In a letter to the British Columbia Securities Commission, OSC Chairman David Brown comments on the proposed B.C. Model.

June 26, 2003 PDAC responds to the B.C. Securities Commission’s proposal for the B.C. Model and continuous market access.

June 12, 2003 The provincial ministers' steering committee releases a discussion paper, Securities Regulation in Canada: An Inter-Provincial Securities Framework. Deadline for written submissions on the paper is July 15, 2003.

June 12, 2003 Government of Canada announces new measures to deter capital markets fraud. Press release.

June 6, 2003 Letter from Natural Resources Canada Minister Herb Dhaliwal stating his belief that measures instituted by the federal and provincial/territorial governments to stimulate mineral exploration would perform even better in a securities environment that offers more streamlined listing requirements, lower cost structures and increased investor confidence.

April 30, 2003 PDAC's response to the Canadian Securities Administrators proposed blueprint for uniform securities laws for Canada

April 28, 2003 Liberal MP Jim Peterson, former Secretary of State for International Financial Institutions, calls for national securities commission. Article in Hill Times.

April 15, 2003 The B.C. Securities Commission releases draft legislation for new securities regulation in the province. At the core of the B.C. Model (www.bcsc.bc.ca/news/NR03_29.asp) is continuous market access.

March 4, 2003 The Government of Canada announces the establishment of a Wise Persons’ Committee to review and make recommendations for improving the securities regulatory structure in Canada. The committee is to submit its report by November 30, 2003. Click here for terms of reference.

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