Mr. Speaker, the hon. member has asked a question about the system for electronic document analysis and retrieval, or SEDAR.
It would perhaps be useful to tell the House what SEDAR does. SEDAR makes it possible to transmit documents electronically to securities commissions and to create an electronic data base accessible to the public.
Rather than being mailed to each of the provincial administrations, as is now the case, documents would go out once electronically. For us and for those involved in the securities market, this is clearly a welcome measure. In fact, if we were to set up a Canadian securities commission, SEDAR would be an essential part of it.
With the advent of SEDAR, the Canadian securities commission is not superseded. In itself, SEDAR does not eliminate the overlap in the present securities regulation system in Canada. It does not solve the problem of approving prospectuses and registering brokers. The approval of at least 12 regulating bodies is still required.
It does not eliminate the inconsistencies in the application of provincial rules, the discrepancies in execution, or the time and effort necessary to co-ordinate the policies of provincial administrations.
The commission would promote the effective application of regulation and improve access to Canadian financial markets. As financial markets are increasingly linked to foreign markets, we must increase the efficiency of our markets in order for our businesses to be competitive.