Toronto – The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) today published CSA Staff Notice 31-311 which provides guidance for the transition from the existing registration regime to the new registration regime under proposed National Instrument 31-103 Registration Requirements and Exemptions (NI 31-103).

In an effort to make the transition as smooth and efficient as possible, CSA staff have outlined in the Notice several items of which registrants should be aware, including proposed changes to the National Registration Database (NRD), the conversion by firms and individuals to new categories of registration and the transition period to comply with new requirements under NI 31-103.

As part of the transition, the NRD is scheduled to be shut down from September 25 to October 12, 2009 to allow for the conversion to new categories of registration. During this time, firms would have read-only access to the database and would need to submit material information to their securities regulator and then re-file that material on the NRD after the database reopens on October 12, 2009.

NI 31-103 is subject to final approvals by securities regulatory authorities and governments in certain jurisdictions. If approved, CSA staff expect to publish NI 31-103 in July 2009. It would come into force on September 28, 2009.

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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