CSA Staff Notice 23-334 – Proposed Amendments to National Instrument 23-101 Trading Rules and Proposed Changes to Companion Policy 23-101 Trading Rules

On January 23, 2025, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA or we) published for comment proposed amendments to the National Instrument 23-101 Trading Rules (Proposed Amendments) and proposed changes to Companion Policy 23-101 Trading Rules (Proposed Changes) on lowering the active trading fee cap applicable to trades in securities that are listed on both a Canadian recognized exchange and a U.S. registered national securities exchange (U.S. Inter-listed Securities).

Extension of comment period

The comment period on the Proposed Amendments and Proposed Changes closed on March 24, 2025. We received six comment letters and thought it would be beneficial for stakeholders to have additional time to review the Proposed Amendments and Proposed Changes. We are therefore extending the comment period to July 2, 2025. Comments already received are posted on the website of each of the Alberta Securities Commission at www.asc.ca, the Ontario Securities Commission at www.osc.ca and the Autorité des marchés financiers at www.lautorite.qc.ca.

In particular, we seek comment on the alternative fee caps mentioned in the notice of the Proposed Amendments and Proposed Changes:

i) CAD 0.0010, without consideration for the current foreign exchange rate;

ii) CAD 0.0014, which approximates the SEC's adopted access fee cap with consideration for the current foreign exchange rate (USD 0.0010 x 1.44);{1}

iii) CAD 0.0017, which is the current fee cap for non-U.S. Inter-listed Securities; or

iv) an alternative not listed above.

We understand that some potential commenters may not have commented because they had previously responded to Joint CSA/CIRO Staff Notice 23-331 Request for Feedback on December 2022 SEC Market Structure Proposals and Potential Impact on Canadian Capital Markets. We encourage commenters who responded to that notice to review and comment on the specific Proposed Amendments and Proposed Changes published in January 2025.

How to provide comments

Stakeholders are invited to provide comments on the Proposed Amendments and Proposed Changes in writing on or before July 2, 2025. Instructions on how to submit comments can be found in Annex A.

Questions

Please refer your questions to any of the following:

Annex A
HOW TO SUBMIT COMMENTS

We welcome your comments on the Proposed Amendments and Proposed Changes and invite comments on the specific questions of the original request for comment. Please provide your comments in writing by July 2, 2025. Please send your comments by email, attached in Microsoft Word format.

We cannot keep submissions confidential because securities legislation requires publication of a summary of written comments received during the comment period. All comments received will be posted on the website of each of the Alberta Securities Commission at www.asc.ca, the Ontario Securities Commission at www.osc.ca and the Autorité des marchés financiers at www.lautorite.qc.ca. Therefore, you should not include personal information directly in comments to be published. It is important you state on whose behalf you are making the submissions.

Please address your submission to the CSA as follows:

British Columbia Securities Commission 
Alberta Securities Commission 
Financial and Consumer Affairs Authority of Saskatchewan 
Manitoba Securities Commission 
Ontario Securities Commission 
Autorité des marchés financiers 
Financial and Consumer Services Commission, New Brunswick 
Superintendent of Securities, Department of Justice and Public Safety, Prince Edward Island 
Nova Scotia Securities Commission 
Office of the Superintendent of Securities, Service NL 
Northwest Territories Office of the Superintendent of Securities 
Office of the Yukon Superintendent of Securities 
Superintendent of Securities, Nunavut

Please send your comments only to the following addresses. Your comments will be forwarded to the remaining jurisdictions:

The Secretary 
Ontario Securities Commission 
20 Queen Street West 
22nd Floor 
Toronto, Ontario 
M5H 3S8 
Fax: 416-593-2318 
Email: [email protected]

M^e Philippe Lebel 
Corporate Secretary and Executive Director, Legal Affairs 
Autorité des marchés financiers 
Place de la Cité, tour PwC 
2640, boulevard Laurier, bureau 400 
Québec (Québec) G1V 5C1 
Fax: (514) 864-8381 
Email: [email protected]

{1} If this fee cap is adopted, it would remain constant at CAD 0.0014 regardless of subsequent changes in the exchange rate.