OSC Notice Regarding Proposed Structure of Trading Facilities for a New Exchange Proposed to be Established by Aequitas Innovations Inc.

 
This Notice is intended to provide an update regarding the Notice and Request for Comments on the Aequitas Proposal, published on the website of the OSC on August 13, 2013. The OSC thanks those who responded to the Request for Comments. The public comments1 have assisted Staff in gathering information and input from stakeholders for the review of the pre-filing and the comments will continue to inform Staff on important issues related to the structure of Ontario’s capital markets.

The OSC reviewed the Aequitas pre-filing within the context of the current regulatory framework and more broadly, the OSC’s statutory mandate to provide protection to investors from unfair, improper or fraudulent practices and to foster fair and efficient capital markets and confidence in capital markets. After a thorough review of the proposal and related comments, the OSC informed Aequitas that it could not support the proposal as published. In particular, the proposal included restrictions on access to visible orders which do not conform to existing requirements of the regulatory framework, including fair access.

After being notified, Aequitas submitted an alternative proposal with amendments to address concerns raised. This alternative proposal will be published for comment in the context of a full exchange recognition application. Comments from stakeholders will be requested on the revised proposal at that time. More information on the exchange recognition process is available on the OSC website.