This release was issued under a previous government.

“I have just learned that Saskatchewan and New Brunswick have decided to join the federal government’s proposed Cooperative Capital Market Regulatory System, originally announced in an agreement-in-principle in September 2013.

“Today’s announcement confirms our long-standing fear that Ottawa will proceed with changes to Canada’s securities regulation system without the support of two of its largest markets, Alberta and Quebec. This will leave Canada with a more fractured system than the one we have today. We do not believe that four provinces constitute a critical mass of support for a change of this magnitude.

“I find it interesting that the federal government has amended the original agreement in principle to garner the support of the smaller provinces.

“The Supreme Court has ruled that securities regulation is a provincial jurisdiction, so Ottawa needs to respect provincial positions. The federal government could have demonstrated that respect by sharing their amended agreement with all the provinces before making an announcement.

“We believe the Alberta Concept provides a more effective alternative framework for improving Canada’s securities regulatory system and addresses the concerns of the BC, Ontario and federal governments.

“Industry representatives in Alberta do not support the federal proposal, preferring a provincially-led approach instead, and the Alberta government has always been clear that it would have to see some major changes before it would considering signing on.   

“In the meantime, we will continue our work to improve the existing securities system, a system that works far better than Mr. Oliver would have you believe: for the past three years, the World Bank has ranked Canada as one of the top five countries for protecting investors, ahead of the United States and the United Kingdom. “