Federal Government to seek ruling on constitutionality of federal securities regulator
On Friday, federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson announced that the Government of Canada would be seeking the Supreme Court's opinion regarding Parliament's authority to implement a federal securities regulatory regime. While the Government believes that it enjoys authority to enact such a scheme, it is submitting the reference to gain greater certainty and will also submit draft legislation to the Supreme Court.
Mr. Nicholson's announcement follows Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's announcement the previous day regarding the appointment of members to an advisory committee to the Canadian Securities Transition Office. The provincial and territorial advisory committee, consisting of representatives of all jurisdictions except for Alberta, Quebec and Manitoba, is intended to "provide advice to the Transition Office on the transition to a Canadian securities regulator" and will "ensure that each of the participating governments' interests are represented in the work of establishing" a federal regulator.
