Last week, Nova Scotia introduced amendments to its Securities Act intended to further facilitate the harmonization of derivatives regulation across Canada. Specifically, the amendments would provide the Nova Scotia Securities Commission with the authority to, among other things, recognize clearing agencies, derivatives trading facilities and trade repositories and regulate the trading of derivatives through such facilities. Nova Scotia's proposed amendments follow Alberta's recent adoption of amendments to its Securities Act and New Brunswick's similar amendments, also intended to create frameworks for the regulation of over-the-counter derivatives in those provinces.
The amendments to both Alberta's and Nova Scotia's securities legislation also expand on the definition of "special relationship" in the context of insider trading, similar to changes made in Ontario last year, to include those considering or evaluating whether to make a take-over bid.
As we have discussed in recent months, Manitoba and Ontario also recently enacted legislation to provide for the regulation of derivatives, while substantive regulation has been adopted by those two provinces as well as Quebec.
Changes to Nova Scotia's statute have yet to be enacted, while Alberta's amendments come into force on proclamation. Changes to New Brunswick's legislation, meanwhile, are currently in force.
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