The Canadian Securities Administrators have issued a request for comment on a new Multilateral Instrument 45-105, Trades to Employees, Senior Officers, Directors, and Consultants, which would harmonize regulatory requirements regarding trades to employees, officers, directors and consultants.

The securities regulatory authorities in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, PEI, Newfoundland, Nunavut, the Yukon and the Northwest Territories are all seeking public comment on the proposed rule.

The securities legislation in each jurisdiction currently contains exemptions from the registration requirement and the prospectus requirement for trades in securities of an issuer’s own issue to the issuer’s employees.

Some also offer statutory exemptions from the registration requirement and the prospectus requirement for trades to an issuer’s non-employee directors and certain consultants, as well as other related relief. The proposed new instrument consolidates and, as much as possible, harmonizes the requirements across the various jurisdictions.

The commissions say they determined that a harmonized instrument would better serve issuers, investors and other market participants. The proposed instrument harmonizes the existing prospectus, registration and issuer bid requirements for trades to employees, senior officers, directors and consultants. The commissions say they believe that harmonizing these requirements will ease the regulatory burden of issuers, and that the cost of complying with securities legislation will be lowered.

Comments are due by January 30, 2003.