Canada closer to unity in securities regulation as Saskatchewan, New Brunswick join national system

The goal of uniting Canada's 13 securities regulators into a national authority moved closer to reality this week, with Saskatchewan and New Brunswick joining the not-yet-operational Cooperative Capital Markets Regulatory (CCMR) System. The two jurisdictions joined founding members Ontario, British Columbia (BC), and the federal government nearly a year after they launched the CCMR program. Of the 33 advanced economies comprising the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Canada is the only member without a national capital markets regulator. Industry leaders welcomed the CCMR's creation in 2013, stressing that it would streamline compliance by reducing the administrative and financial burdens associated with operating in multiple jurisdictions. The regulatory and risk communities also supported the move, because it will allow the federal government to monitor systemic risk and intervene in cases of emergency. Alberta, Quebec, and Manitoba oppose the plan outright,