The proposed launch of a new cooperative securities regulator is being pushed back one year.
The Council of Ministers overseeing the initiative said Friday today that the expected launch date of the capital markets regulatory authority (CRMA) has been pushed back from its initial target of fall 2015 to fall 2016.
The ministers said that revised drafts of new provincial and federal capital markets legislation won’t be published for public comment until the summer; along with the draft initial regulations. The draft rules and legislation will then go out for a 120 day comment period. The hope now is to have that legislation passed by June 30, 2016, and for the new authority to launch next fall.
An initial draft of the necessary legislation was published last fall; and, after a delay, the draft regulations were supposed to be released the early spring of this year. However, the draft legislation received a great deal of critical comment, including a complaint from many that it was impossible to assess the full impact of the proposed legislation without the accompanying rules. So now, revised legislation and the draft rules will be published together.
The ministers also said that they “are committed to taking the time necessary to develop an appropriate legislative and regulatory foundation” for the proposed new cooperative system. They pledged to meet in the summer in Vancouver to review progress on implementing the new system.
Yukon signs on
At the same time, the ministers also announced that the Yukon has joined the initiative as the first territory to sign on to the memorandum of agreement that includes British Columbia, Ontario, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, and PEI, along with the federal government.
Nominating committee members announced
The committee that will propose nominees to the new regulator’s board were also unveiled today.
The nominating committee to recommend candidates for the initial board of directors of the proposed CMRA includes former president and CEO of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC), Susan Wolburgh Jenah, who recently returned to private practice; Michael Wilson, a former federal finance minister; Neil de Gelder, executive vice president of private investment firm Stern Partners Inc.; David Barry, retired chair of New Brunswick’s Financial and Consumer Services Commission; and Grant Kook, founder, president and CEO of Saskatchewan-based private equity manager Westcap Mgt. Ltd.
The CMRA’s initial board will be appointed by the new regulator’s Council of Ministers, which is co-chaired by B.C. Finance Minister Michael de Jong and federal Finance Minister Joe Oliver, based on the recommendations of the nominating committee. The initial board of directors will provide direction on integrating the existing securities regulators into the new cooperative authority.