The Mutual Fund Dealers Association is still waiting to hear from about 95 laggards who’ve missed the application deadline to join the new self-regulatory organization.

Larry Waite, the MFDA’s COO, says the association has received about 175 of 270 anticipated applications. The deadline to apply for firms in British Columbia and Ontario was May 23. Firms in Saskatchewan have until May 30, while firms from Alberta have until June 30 to apply.

“Some time next week we will give the Ontario Securities Commission and British Columbia Securities Commission a list of applications received and they will determine who in their jurisdiction have not applied and is therefore offside the commission rule unless they have been granted an extension by the commission,” says Waite.

It will then be up to the commissions to decide what to do with the slowpokes.

Most of the applications flooded in at the last minute, as Waite expected. He notes that it’s a nice feeling for the MFDA to be cashing cheques finally after a couple of years of writing them.

Apart from processing the applications, the MFDA is also hard at work on its contingency fund plan. “We hope to be in a position to submit our final document to the Canadian Securities Administrators by the end of June. The CSA will then send it out for a comment period,” he says.