From today’s Globe and Mail: “Finance Minister Jim Flaherty says Canada will not move ahead with its proposed Securities Act in light of the Supreme Court of Canada's decision to declare it unconstitutional … The Supreme Court unanimously declared the proposed Act unconstitutional, siding with provinces that insisted the day-to-day regulation of securities markets does not belong in federal hands.”

It’s bureaucracy like this that prevents smaller firms (like Steadyhand) from offering their funds nationwide. Canada is one of few countries that doesn’t have a national securities body, which has been cited as a weakness in our system by many observers. Instead, investment firms have to deal with 13 different regulators (one for each province and territory).

The cost of filing a prospectus, and the associated regulatory expenses of dealing with each province individually, is extremely expensive. It’s the key reason why we only offer our funds in five provinces. As we grow, we hope to make our offering available in every province, but at this stage in our development, the costs are too prohibitive.

As a young business, it’s disheartening to turn down interested investors in Quebec, the Maritimes and the Territories (where the inquiries have been growing steadily). Unfortunately, the news today suggests we’re not going to see a national regulator anytime soon. Bah, humbug.