Canada’s federal government has reached an agreement with six provinces in an effort to simplify the financial regulatory structure. Saskatchewan and New Brunswick are joining British Columbia and Ontario in Ottawa’s proposal to create a single national securities regulator that would be fully operational by autumn 2015. When Prince Edward Island joined the initiative on September 30 2014, the six governments renewed the invitation to all remaining provinces and territories to participate.

This will replace the system of the federal Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) serving as the primary banking regulator, with its network of 13 provincial and territorial securities regulators overseeing securities trading across the nation’s provincial and territorial jurisdictions.

The launch of a new stock market has got the go ahead from regulators. The Ontario Securities Commission confirmed in a recognition order that Aequitas Innovations, backed by a group of market investors and participants, can begin operating by March 27 2015. The new entity will be called the Aequitas NEO Exchange and will compete with TMX Group and other exchanges in Canada.

Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) has invited comment on Proposed National Instrument 24-102 Clearing Agency Requirements, a paper which suggests international standards for Canadian financial market infrastructures (FMIs). FMIs include clearing agencies serving both securities and derivatives markets under securities legislation. Liquidity adequacy requirements (LAR) for banks, bank holding companies, trust and loan companies, and cooperative retail associations are set out in six chapters. It remains under review to keep it in accordance with Basel III.

“The proposed instrument formalises a framework for the recognition or exemption of clearing agencies seeking to carry on business in the jurisdictions of Canada,” says John Lockbaum, managing director, RBC Investor & Treasury Services in Canada.

Canada’s market stakeholders continue to take steps in alignment with global players. The Canadian Depository for Securities (CDS) and the Canadian Capital Markets Association (CCMA) have announced that they will come together to prepare for the shortening of the settlement cycle in the domestic market from T+3 to T+2. Given the close ties between the Canadian and US markets – with some securities dual-listed – CDS has indicated that it will align itself to the implementation approach of the US Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), which has already begun efforts to move to T+2.

“A conversion date is not yet in place,” says Shane Kuros, vice president, business development and relationship management at CIBC Mellon, “But we expect an announcement later this year.”