OTTAWA -- The federal, B.C. and Ontario governments have agreed to set up a co-operative securities regulator, a first step toward a national body to oversee Canada's securities industry.
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and his counterparts in B.C. and Ontario also invited all the provinces to join them in the proposed system.
Flaherty has long sought a national securities regulator, but the Supreme Court blocked a plan in 2011 by the federal government create one.
However, the court allowed Ottawa could seek a co-operative approach with the provinces.
The new regulator will administer a single set of regulations and be directed by a board of independent directors.
It will have a head office in Toronto and a nationally integrated executive management team.
