Garry Neil addresses Queen’s Park committee
The National Post reports that, “A source close to the group said the firms, among them Toronto-Dominion Bank, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and National Bank of Canada, plan to issue a statement opposing the plan to merge the TMX Group with the London Stock Exchange into a entity headquartered in London. …As part of the opposition group, Jim Prentice, the former federal industry minister, added his voice to the tumult Tuesday. Now a senior executive with CIBC, Mr. Prentice warned that the merger could jeopardize Canadian interests and that the government should step in unless executives at the two exchanges agree to a list of key conditions. …Notably absent from the group opposing the TMX-LSE deal is Royal Bank of Canada, the country’s largest corporation and biggest capital markets player. Speaking in an interview last week, Gordon Nixon, the chief executive, unequivocally endorsed the amalgamation, arguing that unless the deal goes through, the Toronto Stock Exchange may not be around in five years.”
The Council of Canadians has been opposing the takeover of the Toronto Stock Exchange by the London Stock Exchange.
On March 3, the Wall Street Journal reported that, “A prominent citizen-advocacy group urged Ontario’s provincial government to withhold support for TMX Group Inc.’s proposed merger with the London Stock Exchange Group PLC, arguing the stock-market tie-up could hinder Canada’s ability to regulate its financial markets, and adding to growing criticism of the deal here. The Council of Canadians, a group that has opposed many free-trade proposals as well as closer trade and security integration with the U.S., stepped into the fray on the second day of public hearings by the Ontario provincial government. …Garry Neil, executive director for the Council of Canadians, said LSE’s majority ownership and board representation on the merged company could ultimately lead to the adoption of U.K. securities regulations here. Mr. Neil said that what he called tougher regulations now on the books in Canada ‘would merely encourage the combined exchange to shift the regulated activities into the U.K.’”
On February 9, the Toronto Star reported, “The head of a nationalist watchdog group fears allowing the two exchange companies to combine would mean a loss of jobs, both at the exchanges themselves, and among the broader financial sector, as more firms choose to list their stocks in London. ‘We’ve watched this happen so many times when Canadian companies get taken over. At first, they say ‘it will be good for you, and we’ll keep a Canadian headquarters,’ but inevitably those jobs shift to the home base,’ said Maude Barlow, national chairwoman for the Council of Canadians. If Canadian companies do shift their listings to London, England, they could be following financial rules set outside this country, Barlow fears.”
