Editor's Note.(former Canadian Banker editor Brian O'Brien dies)(Brief Article)(Obituary)

Revising the rules

In June 1996, the federal government issued a white paper which, among other things, established a Task Force on the Future of the Canadian Financial Services Sector, later known as the MacKay task force. This set in motion an extraordinarily extensive review of Canada's system of regulating financial services, a process that culminated in June of this year with the introduction of Bill C-38, an enormous legislative package that creates a new policy framework for the country's financial-services industry.

Bill C-38 is without doubt one of the most important pieces of legislation produced by the current government, with far-reaching …