Canadian Securities Regulation, 6th Edition – Book Review

The various editions of Canadian Securities Regulation have been a fixture in law school classrooms and law firm reference libraries since 1977.  Over that time securities law has increased in importance as the scale of Canadian business, and its need for external capital, has grown. For nearly 50 years the book has remained the standard text on its subject matter, even as the securities regime has expanded into new (and often unexpected) areas such as corporate governance, provincial-federal constitutional negotiations, systemic economy-wide risk, and online crypto exchanges.

The book’s long history, with the various editions overseen by a consistent panel of authors, gives it an unmatched capaciousness and historical depth. There is no significant topic in the area of securities practice that is not carefully and clearly addressed by this most recent edition. Somehow the text manages to provide the advantages of its historical perspective without losing itself in detours from what is essential for practitioners to know in the current moment. It is an eminently practical book.

Canadian Securities Regulation accomplishes another impressive feat: remaining alive to the economic and business context of various aspects of securities regulation, while avoiding unnecessary academic digressions into policy or theory. The intellectual framework of securities regulation is successfully used in the text solely as another way to illuminate the state of the field as it now exists.

Both sides of various live issues in securities regulation are faithfully presented, along with the insights from policy or theory that will help lawyers understand each aspect of the regulatory regime as it now stands, as well as the direction it is moving. It is a testament to the authors’ even-handed presentation of both sides of controversies, that as someone occasionally cited as a dissenting voice, I can find no objections to the way my positions are treated.

The text benefits greatly from the geographic distribution of its long-time authors. Not unreasonably the view from Ontario usually dominates discussions of securities regulation, but of course there are countervailing views on many issues coming from regulators outside of Toronto. The text performs the nationally vital task of explaining the perspectives and circumstances of different parts of Canada to all the other parts. Notably, it does a superb job of handling the various conflicts that have arisen between Quebec, the western provinces, and Ontario.

Probably the majority of readers of Canadian Securities Regulation over the years have been law students; the text is admirably suited to their needs. It explains complex regulations clearly and precisely with, as I have mentioned above, admirable economy. It is particularly thoughtful in its division of materials between the main text and the footnotes. This care allows arguments, elaborations, and digressions to be made in the footnotes while the text itself serves as a straightforward guide to the core aspects of the regulation under consideration.

Any review would be remiss if it neglected to note that this most recent edition of Canadian Securities Regulation contains the most comprehensive and up to date treatment of the impact of technology on securities markets available in this country. Covering high-frequency trading, robo-advisors, crypto, dark pools, artificial intelligence, and DeFi, this section of the text is essential reading even for very experienced securities practitioners interested in staying current.

The sixth edition of Canadian Securities Regulation is an impressive achievement. It is clear, balanced, nuanced, and comprehensive. It should be rated very highly by the securities bar.

Purchase a copy of the book on the LexisNexis Canada e-store here.