CSA STAFF NOTICE 33-312

THE CSA STP READINESS ASSESSMENT SURVEY REPORT IS NOW AVAILABLE ON THE OSC WEBSITE

The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA), a council of the 13 securities regulators of Canada's provinces and territories, believe that straight-through processing (STP) is an extremely important initiative. The CSA made available a second STP Readiness Assessment Survey (Survey) to Canadian registrant and non-registrant firms (Firms) to assess the preparedness of the industry in Canada for STP.

The Survey was available online from June 14 to July 12, 2004. The CSA asked investment dealers; mutual fund dealers; investment counsels and/or portfolio managers; limited market dealers; mutual fund managers; discount brokers (Quebec registrant category); and unrestricted brokers (Quebec registrant category) to complete the Survey. We have received 529 responses. The CSA has tabulated the results and has posted the CSA STP Readiness Assessment Survey Report (Survey Report) on the OSC website.

To view the Survey Report in English or French, please visit the OSC website at www.osc.gov.on.ca.

We thank all Firms who have taken the time to complete the voluntary Survey.

For more information on the STP initiative, please visit the OSC website at www.osc.gov.on.ca and the Canadian Capital Markets Association (CCMA) website at www.ccma-acmc.ca.

For further information regarding the Survey Report, please contact:

November 5, 2004.