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January 09, 2022

One country, one stock market

By Deirdre McMurdy, Sympatico / MSN Finance

The big news in financial markets - and political circles - next week is going to be the release of a report by an expert panel on the creation of a single securities regulator for Canada.

The acceptance of this panel report by the provinces, which currently regulate 13 individual markets across the country, is an important event for Canadian investors for several reasons.

First and foremost, it will ensure uniform standards and more coherent enforcement with all market players under one set of rules. That alone should boost investor confidence in markets as they begin - and they will - to recover some of their lost ground.

Given that markets always over discount bad news and reflect our collective expectations of the future, as bits of good news start to surface there will inevitably be some forward thrust. And now is the time to put new rules in place to enhance conditions that attract capital not just from Canadians but from foreign investors - many of whom view this country as among those with the healthiest economies and banking systems in the world.

The expert panel - which is headed by Tom Hockin, a former Cabinet minister and financial industry executive - has the full backing of the federal finance department - which has placed a priority on moving this file forward. And the ultimate question posed by everyone involved is: if not now, when?

After all, it hard to imagine a time when the need for rules , disclosure and transparency has ever been more compelling.

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