(Federal Securities) Regulators! Mount Up!

Regulators
We regulate any stealing of his property
And we damn good too
But you can't beat any geek off the street,
Gotta be handy with the steel
If you know what I mean, earn your keep
Regulators! Mount up!

[...]

They got guns to my head
I think I'm going down
I can't believe this happenin' in my own town
If I had wings I could fly
Let me contemplate
I glanced in the cut and I see my homey Nate

(Nate Dogg:)
Sixteen in the clip and one in the hole
Nate Dogg is about to make some bodies turn cold
Now they droppin' and yellin'
It's a tad bit late
Nate Dogg and Warren G had to regulate
--Warren G/Nate Dogg

Jim Flaherty brings it with a realness:

HALIFAX (CP) - The creation of a single securities regulator is imperative for the Canadian economy, federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty argued Monday, but he seemed unwilling to invest more than a limited amount of political capital in the concept.

[...]

As an economic behemoth, Ontario has the potential to squash smaller provinces with its influence. It's a fact not lost on other governments - notably Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia - which fear losing control over investment.

Flaherty brushed aside those fears Monday and said the reality is that Ontario already dominates the securities field and reform presents an opportunity for other provinces to gain more control.

This is pretty interesting...

First off, its been obvious since common sense was invented that having 13 different securities regulators is a shitshow. Seriously, what the shit!? We've got globalized markets all over the friggin map and Prince Edward Island get to call shots for securities trading? Meanwhile, investors just took their cash to another jurisdiction that doesn't have a ridiculous nightmare of paperwork.

It's also obvious why no one wants to touch this, and especially not the former Liberal government - it's constitutionally Provincial. As in: Step off, O-town dicks- This is not a frickin' dilapidated interprovincial highway.

Enter the cons: sometimes it takes a provincial rights type party to do something that needs federal jurisdiction...or just implement an opponent's partisan idea....just like it took a Clinton to reform welfare, or Bush to up aide to Africa. In this case, the move is a no-nonsense, straight up good move. Policy wise.

Politically, Flaherty is going to need to really push the cons street cred on provinincial rights to get this through. BC, for one, has been the renegade master of ceremonies of crazy securities regulation, so be ready to throw down, chumps! Chances are that the Province is gonna give up the BCSC like Pete Doherty is gonna give up drugs. Also, is anyone in BC going to want another federal bureaucracy running the best coast?

It's a nice idea, really, but you'll have to move (bc) mountains before this thing gets through.