Ontario’s government today introduced a new bill designed to ease ease the operation of capital markets.

If it’s passed, the Securities Transfer Act would bring Ontario up to date with current business realities by giving the same kind of legal certainty to securities transferred electronically as those that are transferred by physically moving paper certificates. The bill would also consolidate all of Ontario’s current securities transfer laws under one law as opposed to being scattered over several statutes. This would make it easier for everyone to determine the rules and understand their rights and obligations.

“It’s hard to overstate the importance of this bill to the continued competitiveness of Ontario’s capital markets,” said Robert Scavone, a senior business lawyer with the law firm McMillan Binch Mendelsohn LLP. “It will give business people the legal certainty they need in this area and it will bring our laws into the 21st century.”

The government committed to modernizing Ontario’s corporate and commercial laws in the 2005 spring budget. The bill is the first part of a three-phase plan to update corporate and commercial laws in Ontario. The plan is based on the unanimous recommendations of an all-party legislative committee.

Government Services Minister Gerry Phillips, said, “Now, more than ever, we have to make sure that Ontario remains competitive with jurisdictions around the world. This bill will give clarity to investors and help make sure that Ontario’s capital markets remain an investment destination of choice.”