Earlier this month, Saskatchewan Bill 65, The Securities Amendment Act, 2012 (No. 2), which will establish a framework for OTC derivatives regulation in that province, received Royal Assent. The bill contains provisions for the designation and regulation of trade repositories and clearing agencies, and sets out obligations respecting the trading in derivatives. Regulations articulating the specific requirements associated with the new provisions, such as with respect to reporting of trades, recordkeeping and transparency, have yet to be released. Parts of the Bill that amend existing provisions in the Securities act will have immediate effect.
The adoption of the bill follows Manitoba's adoption last year of Bill 10, The Securities Amendment Act, which is intended to create a similar regulatory framework in that province. Ontario, meanwhile, adopted similar amendments to its Securities Act in 2010.
The provincial enactments continue a trend towards establishing derivatives regulation across Canada. As we've discussed in the past, the CSA have published, over the last few years, a series of consultation papers considering various aspects of OTC derivatives regulation. Meanwhile, the federal government's 2012 budget implementation bill, which was adopted in December, supports central clearing of OTC derivatives. Meanwhile, as we discussed in April, the CSA recently released its latest consultation paper on the regulation of derivatives, this one on the topic of registration.
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