I'd like to ask the Minister of Justice, the Hon. Jackson Lafferty, to introduce the bill.
Mahsi, Mr. Chair. I'm pleased to appear before the committee today to review Bill 7, a new Securities Act.
The present Securities Act is outdated and inadequate to address the many changes that have occurred — particularly in recent years — in the capital markets and the regulation of those markets in Canada since it was enacted.
The lack of harmonized legislation has been identified as a significant weakness in the current regulation of securities trading in Canada.
Cross-border trading in securities is now the rule rather than the exception. Securities legislation that is not uniform or harmonized leads to inefficiencies in the raising of capital, and inconsistent and unequal protection for investors.
In 2004 an inter-provincial Memorandum of Understanding was developed with a goal of improving securities regulations in Canada.
The MOU established a Council of Ministers responsible for securities regulations and identified several key objectives, the most important of which are:
the implementation of a passport system, where an issuer or a registrant need only deal with the primary regulator and comply with the laws of that regulator’s jurisdiction in order to operate in any or all other provinces and territories; and
the harmonization of securities legislation, in particular to improve enforcement, investor protection and inter-jurisdictional cooperation.
The Council of Ministers identified a wide range of recommended changes to securities legislation to support the passport system and to strengthen the coordinated national system of regulation in Canada. As the scope of these amendments grew, it became clear that it would be easier to accommodate these improvements within a new act, rather than in an amendment to the current legislation.
Officials in Prince Edward Island, Nunavut and Yukon drew the same conclusion in respect of their legislation. This led to the idea that the four jurisdictions should join forces to develop a uniformmodel act that would include all of the measures proposed by the Council of Ministers that are suitable for smaller Canadian jurisdictions.
They began with model legislation that had been developed by the securities regulators from all of the provinces and territories and that had been completed in 2003. The Council of Ministers Task Force supported them in their work. A request for public comments on a Northwest Territories version of the model was circulated last fall. P.E.I. and Yukon did likewise with their versions.
Few comments were expected, given the objective is harmonization with laws already applicable to the industry in other jurisdictions. There were several minor suggestions, all of which were addressed in the bill.
A new act has now been enacted in P.E.I. and Yukon. In Nunavut a bill to enact the model is at a second reading.
The purpose of securities legislation is to facilitate the raising of capital in the private sector while providing appropriate protections and remedies for investors. A new Securities Act would not necessarily promote capital investment in the Northwest Territories, but it would remove obstacles that arise from legislation that is outdated and out of step with legislation elsewhere in Canada.
Most importantly, this bill includes new and significantly improved enforcement and investor protection measures in line with those that have been recently enacted in many provinces.
Mr. Chair, I would like to thank the Standing Committee on Social Programs for its review of this bill. Mahsi, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. At this time, I’d like to ask the committee responsible for overseeing this bill if they have any general comments. Mr. McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. The Standing Committee on Social Programs held public hearings on Bill 7, Securities Act, between April 25 and May 1, 2008. No witnesses spoke to the bill other than the Minister and his officials.
The clause-by-clause review of the bill took place on May 20, 2008. During the clause-by-clause review, the committee passed three motions to make minor technical amendments to the bill. The Minister concurred with the amendments. Following the clause-by-clause review, a motion was carried to report Bill 7, as amended and reprinted, to the Assembly as ready for Committee of the Whole.
This concludes the committee’s general comments on Bill 7. Individual committee members may have questions or comments as we proceed. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. At this time, I’d like to ask the Minister responsible for the bill if he’d be bringing any witnesses. Mr. Lafferty.
Yes, Mr. Chair.
Does committee agree that the Minister brings in his witnesses?
Agreed.
SergeantatArms, escort the witness in. Mr. Lafferty, can you introduce your witnesses for the record.
Mahsi, Mr. Chair. I have with me here Mr. Gary MacDougall, director of legal registries, and Mr. Mark Aitken, director of legislation division. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Minister. Welcome, witnesses.
I would like now to open the floor for general comments on Bill 7. Does the committee agree that no further general comments are needed and we can go clause by clause to review Bill 7? Members may note that Bill 7 consists of 186 clauses. For the interests of efficiency, I suggest to the Members that we deal with the clauses in groups of about 19 to 20. Members will, of course, have the ability to ask questions on any of the clauses within that grouping. Do Members agree with this approach?
Agreed.
Thank you. We will proceed with consideration on Bill 7, clause by clause. Clauses 1 to 20.
Clauses 1 through 20 inclusive approved.
Clauses 21 to 40, pages 40-47.
Clauses 21 through 40 inclusive approved.
Clauses 41 to 60.
Clauses 41 through 60 inclusive approved.
Clauses 61 to 80, pages 57-68.
Clauses 61 through 80 inclusive approved.
Clauses 81 to 100, pages 69-77.
Clauses 81 through 100 inclusive approved.
Clauses 101 to 120, pages 78-99.
Clauses 101 through 120 inclusive approved.
Clauses 121 to 140, pages 101-125.
Clauses 121 through 140 inclusive approved.
Clauses 141 to160, pages 125-138.
Clauses 141 through 160 inclusive approved.
Clauses 161 to 180, pages 138-172.
Clauses 161 through 180 inclusive approved.
Clauses 181 to 186, pages 173-179.
Clauses 181 through 186 inclusive approved.
The bill as a whole.
Bill 7 as a whole approved.
Does the committee agree that Bill 7 is ready for third reading?
Bill 7 approved for third reading.
Bill 7 is now ready for third reading.
I’d like to thank the Minister and his witnesses. Sergeant-at-Arms, could you escort the witnesses out.
With that, I conclude the two items we agreed to deal with earlier. What is the wish of the committee?
Mr. Chairman, I would like to move that we report progress.
