March 3, 2006

Montréal - Today, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) published a revised rule and policy to accelerate institutional trade matching processes. The revisions to the original rule and policy respond to public comments made on the first versions published in April 2004.

“The majority of comments on the 2004 proposals support a CSA rule requiring institutional trade matching on trade date,” said Jean St-Gelais, Chair of the CSA, and President and Chief Executive Officer of Québec’s Autorité des marchés financiers. “However, almost all of the commenters found it unfeasible to require institutional trade matching by the earlier proposed deadlines. We have revised our proposals to facilitate institutional trade matching by focusing on policies and procedures and by allowing a transition towards institutional trade matching on the day of trade by July 1, 2008.”

Proposed National Instrument 24-101 — Institutional Trade Matching and Settlement, and Proposed Companion Policy 24-101CP — to National Instrument 24-101 – Institutional Trade Matching and Settlement are available on various CSA members’ web sites. Comments on the proposals are requested by May 2, 2006.

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

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