The B.C. Securities Commission is may get rid of the prospectus process. Under a streamlining effort, leading up to its deregulation project, the BCSC has significantly reduced its rulebook.

Eliminating the prospectus requirement, traditionally a cornerstone of securities regulation, is the most significant of several reforms described in a discussion paper released today by the BCSC.

The BCSC proposals include:

– Replacing prospectuses with a continuous market access system to give public companies immediate access to the market, companies would only need to file a media release prior to issuing new securities;
– Giving investors new rights to sue market participants and
others for fraud, misrepresentations and illegal insider trading.
– Replacing detailed registration rules with a code of conduct for securities
firms.

“Many people are focused on making securities laws uniform across Canada to cut the cost and frustration industry faces in dealing with 13 different regulators,” says Brent Aitken, a commissioner leading the BCSC deregulation
team. “Uniform rules are important but the real problem is that industry faces too many rules that are too complex, too rigid and change too often.”

“We are looking forward to discussing these concepts with industry across Canada and our fellow regulators,” says Aitken.