For Immediate Release
April 7, 2016

Canadian Securities Regulators Publish Amendments to Order Protection Rule

Toronto – The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) today published final amendments to National Instrument 23-101 Trading Rules and its companion policy. The amendments adjust the order protection rule (OPR) framework to address inefficiencies and respond to market developments.

“We have seen tremendous evolution in the markets and we are making sure that regulation evolves along with it. The final amendments will provide flexibility to market participants in determining if and when to access trading on certain marketplaces, address the level of trading fees in Canada and provide a transparent process for regulatory oversight of real-time professional market data fees,” said Louis Morisset, Chair of the CSA and President and CEO of the Autorité des marchés financiers.

The amendments include:

• a market share threshold set at 2.5 per cent market share of the adjusted volume and value traded equally weighted over a one-year period;
• guidance related to intentional order processing delays or speed bumps;
• a data fees methodology; and
• a cap on active trading fees charged by marketplaces.

The changes are based on proposed amendments first published in May 2014, following a CSA review of OPR, as well as June 2015 proposed amendments to the Companion Policy to National Instrument 23-101 Trading Rules, which address circumstances where a marketplace has introduced an intentional order processing delay.

Provided all necessary Ministerial approvals are obtained, the amendments will come into force on July 6, 2016, except for the market share threshold, which will come into force on October 1, 2016.

Today, the CSA also published CSA Notice and Request for Comment Proposed Amendments to National Instrument 23-101 Trading Rules. The proposed amendments would reduce the cap on active trading fees for non-inter-listed securities. These are securities that are listed on a Canadian exchange, but not listed on a U.S. exchange. The proposed amendments can be found on CSA members’ websites. The comment period closes on July 6, 2016.

The CSA, the council of the securities regulators of Canada’s provinces and territories, co-ordinates and harmonizes regulation for the Canadian capital markets.

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