Montréal, June 26, 2014 ‒ After the June 23 meeting in Charlottetown of the Provincial-Territorial Council of Ministers of Securities Regulation – which includes Québec Minister of Finance Carlos Leitão – the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal, Finance Montréal, the International Financial Centre Montréal and UQAM’s École des sciences de la gestion reiterate the need to keep securities oversight and regulatory expertise in Québec.
“Having a strong, independent securities regulator in Québec strengthens Montréal’s role as a financial centre, makes it possible to respond more effectively to the particular needs of local companies and supports promising sectors,” said Michel Leblanc, President and CEO of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal. “This is why the city’s business community is opposed to the federal government’s plans to establish a national securities regulator in Toronto. This would inevitably shift regulatory activities outside Québec and result in the loss of several hundred high-value-added jobs in promising sectors in Greater Montréal.”
The financial sector generates 6.2% of Québec’s GDP and accounts for almost 160,000 of the province’s jobs. This growing industry is a source of considerable wealth creation for Québec and contributes to its international influence. Furthermore, the city went from being ranked 26th to 16th on the Global Financial Centres Index in the past three years.
“Having a single securities regulator would weaken Québec’s financial sector and reduce the appeal of financial specializations found here,” said Eric Lemieux, Chief Executive Officer of Finance Montréal and the International Financial Centre Montréal. “Furthermore, the current passport system, according to which the provinces and territories each have an autonomous regulatory organization that cooperates with its counterparts, works very well. And adjustments are constantly being made to the passport system to refine it and adapt it to new market realities.”
“Federal plans for a securities regulator are hard to justify economically,” said Stéphane Pallage, an economist and dean of UQAM’s École des sciences de la gestion. “It would constitute a loss of expertise and autonomy for Québec. A strong financial markets authority is essential to the development of Québec’s financial sector. Many commentators attribute the solid performance of Québec and Canada during the most recent financial crisis in part to the securities commissions structure and effective provincial regulation. A centralized regulatory superstructure is needless: the ongoing sharing of information between provincial securities commissions is sufficient for the optimal protection of investors.”
About the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal
The Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal is made up of some 7,000 members. Its mission is to represent the interests of the business community of Greater Montréal and to provide individuals, merchants, and local businesses of all sizes with a variety of specialized services to help them achieve their full potential in terms of innovation, productivity, and competitiveness. The Board of Trade is Quebec's leading private economic development organization.
About Finance Montréal and the International Financial Centre Montréal
Finance Montréal and the International Financial Centre Montréal are private organizations dedicated to the development of Montréal as a financial centre. Finance Montréal was created in 2010 by actors in the world of finance, and its mission is to improve Montréal’s international reputation as a robust, innovative and world-class financial centre. The organization helps consolidate Québec’s financial sector by stimulating growth and high-value-added financial activities strategic for its development. The International Financial Centre Montréal is devoted to Montréal’s development as an international financial centre. It promotes Montréal’s international appeal as a financial centre, advises and supports financial companies seeking to establish a presence in Montréal and, through its network of partners, assists them in their administrative efforts and opens the door for them to Montréal’s network of financial firms.
About the Université du Québec à Montréal’s École des sciences de la gestion
The Université du Québec à Montréal’s École des sciences de la gestion educates more than 20% of management students in Québec. With its 14,000 students at the undergraduate and graduate levels, it is the largest teaching and research institution in the field of management sciences in Canada and the largest French-language management school in the world.
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Information:
Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal
Michelle LLambias Meunier
Advisor, Media Relations
Tel.: 514 871-4000, ext. 4042
mllambias@ccmm.qc.ca
Facebook: www.facebook.com/chambremontreal
Twitter: @chambremontreal
follow the discussion: #ccmmqcca
Finance Montréal and International Financial Centre Montréal
Manuela Steis
Tel.: 514 287-1477, ext. 323
manuela.steis@cfimontreal.com
Université du Québec à Montréal’s École des sciences de la gestion(ESG UQAM)
Jean-Philippe Gingras
Tel.: 514 987-3000, ext. 2208
Gingras.jean-philippe@uqam.ca