Industry groups welcome

(March 5, 2003) Industry groups are applauding federal Finance Minister John Manley’s appointments to a wise persons committee, mandated to examine ways to reform the country’s fragmented system of securities regulation. The committee will be chaired by Vancouver-based Michael Phelps, chair of Dornoch Capital and the former head of Westcoast Energy.

Saskatchewan securities lawyer Harold MacKay, who suggested the creation of the committee last fall, will serve as vice-chair.

The other committee members are lawyer Thomas Allen of Ogilvy Renault; Pierre Brunet, chair of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants; University of Toronto professor Wendy Dobson; Halifax lawyer Edwin Harris of the firm Patterson Palmer; and Michael Tims, chair of the Calgary investment firm Peters & Co. The committee will report to Manley by November 30, 2003.

“We have appointed a group of highly dedicated and capable Canadians to take a fresh and independent look at the issue of securities regulatory reform,” Manley said yesterday.

“The high calibre and representative nature of the committee should result in a thoughtful and constructive report,” the Investment Dealers Association said in a statement.

“In our view, the committee members bring a wide range of relevant experience, expertise and perspective to this important task,” said Ray Protti, president of the Canadian Bankers Association.

“We are pleased with the quality of the people selected to undertake this challenging task and we applaud the federal government’s initiative in this matter,” added Tom Hockin, president of the Investment Funds Institute of Canada.

In a letter to Manley last fall, Mackay said the committee should weigh the benefits of expanding the current provincially run securities system through greater harmonization against the benefits of a single national regulator.

In a letter to Phelps, Manley noted the recent creation of a provincial ministerial committee with members from B.C., Alberta, Ontario and Quebec that is also looking into securities regulation issues. This group held its first meeting in Toronto last month and has agreed to form a regulatory task force. The finance minister said he encourages the wise persons committee to work with its provincial counterpart.

Filed by Doug Watt, Advisor.ca, dwatt@advisor.ca