John Manley, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Canada, said Thursday that Canada’s securities regulatory system needs to be streamlined to make it globally competitive.

Manley made his comments in a luncheon speech in Toronto hosed by the TSX Group and Standard & Poor’s.

Manley said that the Canadian government is conscious of the need to make the system of securities regulation “as internationally competitive as possible”.

“In talking with our securities market participants, and looking at other systems in place elsewhere in the world, we are of the view that Canada’s system of regulation needs to be streamlined in order to reduce the regulatory burden on companies that wish to access Canadian capital markets,” he said.

While he didn’t specify the model that would be most competitive, he noted that the Wise Persons Committee appointed by Ottawa is working on the issue, as is a provincial ministers committee.

Manley enumerated the government’s various efforts to improve investor confidence. “The strength of our corporate governance and disclosure regimes have put Canadian markets on solid footing. But we cannot be complacent and must always be ready to deal with developments in Canada and abroad,” he said.

“At the same time, both government and business realized that our response to this issue must represent a ‘made-in-Canada’ solution, one that recognizes the unique nature of our securities market and reflects the needs of Canadian companies, while utilizing the best elements of corporate governance and disclosure regimes in the U.S. and elsewhere,” Manley concluded.