A National Securities Regulator for Canada - One Step Closer

On May 26, 2010 the federal government released its proposed Canadian Securities Act which would create a national Canadian Securities Regulatory Authority (the CSRA). It also announced that it will bring a reference to the Supreme Court of Canada to ask the question: Is the proposed Canadian Securities Act within the legislative authority of the Parliament of Canada? Some provinces have objected to a national securities act and regulator on the basis that such legislation is under provincial jurisdiction. The government is taking the proactive step of seeking the Supreme Court's opinion in order to have certainty on the constitutionality of the federal securities act before the act is debated in the ordinary parliamentary process. The national regime is described as "voluntary", permitting provinces to "opt-in" to national regulation.