Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The bill here, Bill C-37, amends the financial institutions statutes to allow certain entities to act as mutual fund trustees. In light of recent comments from stakeholders, we have concerns that the proposed language could be overly restrictive and as such not fully convey our policy intent.
This amendment would add a fifth category--investment counselling and portfolio management services--of entities that would qualify for our proposed exemption to act as a trustee of a mutual fund. The amendment would also edit the language of the provision in order to more accurately reflect the policy intent of allowing these entities to be engaged in a combination of some of the permitted business activities.
Both these changes would reflect current market practices and are in line with our policy on trustees of mutual funds.