November 13, 2009 CSA Securities

Toronto – The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) today announced amendments to National Instrument 21-101 Marketplace Operation (NI 21-101) and National Instrument 23-101 Trading Rules (NI 23-101) to create an Order Protection Rule and other additional requirements relating to trading on multiple marketplaces.

The Order Protection Rule requires all visible, immediately accessible, better-priced limit orders to be filled before other limit orders at inferior prices, regardless of the marketplace where the order is entered. Other amendments include a prohibition on intentionally locking or crossing markets.

“These amendments, the Order Protection Rule in particular, will help maintain investor confidence in the integrity of the Canadian market, which has rapidly evolved into a multiple marketplace environment,” said Jean St-Gelais, Chair of the CSA and President & Chief Executive Officer of the Autorité des marchés financiers (Québec). “The new rules will ensure that orders that are entered are being treated fairly, regardless of the participant’s sophistication or the order size.”

The Order Protection Rule will require each marketplace to have policies and procedures in place to reasonably prevent trade-throughs. By introducing these requirements, the rule maintains the historical obligation of full depth-of-book protection in Canada and continues to facilitate fairness and provide investors an incentive to participate in the price discovery process, which in turn increases market liquidity.

Subject to ministerial approvals, the amendments (other than the Order Protection Rule) will come into force in all CSA jurisdictions on January 28, 2010. The Order Protection Rule will come into effect on February 1, 2011. The CSA continues to consult with industry and it will be developing and publishing a plan for the rollout of the Order Protection Rule.

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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