Finance committee  To be honest, I really don't know. It was issued by a panel of experts working for the minister. It was part of their work. I'm not sure how they arrived at this opinion. I'll have to get back to you.

Finance committee  Yes.

Finance committee  Yes.

Finance committee  Generally speaking, the aim in creating a national securities commission is to ensure more efficient operations, to adopt regulations and to apply these regulations faster than is possible under the current system that is comprised of the 13 provincial securities commissions.

Finance committee  My response would probably be clearer.

Finance committee  It is not seen as directly advantageous to a specific company to participate in a national or a Canadian securities commission as much as it is seen to be to the advantage of the system as a whole to have a Canadian securities commission. The opt-in identified by the panel as a possible future option is to allow companies to take advantage of the efficiency and overall effectiveness of a national, or a pan-Canadian, securities commission.

Finance committee  Not exactly. I am saying it could be in the best interests of a company that is borrowing money internationally and therefore dealing with international securities rules to be registered at the national level as opposed to the provincial level.

Finance committee  I'm Rob Stewart, the general director of the Financial Sector Policy Branch.