New alternative trading market will increase competition among Canadian Stock Exchanges

TORONTO (June 14, 2006 ) - Canadian Trading and Quotation System Inc. ("CNQ") said today that the Ontario Securities Commission (“OSC”) has approved CNQ’s application to operate Pure Trading, an alternative market for trading in securities listed on other Canadian stock exchanges. The new market, which will be separate from CNQ's own listed market of small-cap companies, will provide a more accessible, much faster, low cost alternative to trading on the existing exchanges. Pure Trading will be the first alternative market in Canada to offer a visible auction market accessible by investment dealers.

This approval is an important step in the development of Pure Trading, which will bring the benefits of direct competition in Canadian stock trading to the investment community by reducing costs and introducing a high speed trading system that will also cater to the fast growing use of algorithmic trading technologies by market participants. Pure Trading is expected to be launched later this year.

“All indications are that Pure Trading will significantly enhance the collective liquidity pool for Canadian stocks. Our value proposition seems to resonate equally with both international and domestic participants” said Ian Bandeen, Vice-Chairman and CEO of CNQ and Pure Trading. “Put simply, it will be a better, faster, cheaper market that will be a catalyst for both efficiency and growth in trading of Canadian equities.”

Pure Trading will be powered by the high performance X-stream trading engine licensed from OMX of Sweden, the leading supplier of trading systems to stock markets around the world.

The approval of the application marks another milestone in the trend towards greater competition fostered by the provincial securities commissions across Canada when they introduced national marketplace rules in 2001.

Robert Cook, President of CNQ, said “It is rare that an opportunity arises for a regulatory body to provide leadership to an industry rather than react to changes but the commissions led the way by enacting the rules and regulations that provided an infrastructure for competition.”

Pure Trading is the second major initiative of CNQ, which launched the first new Canadian stock exchange in over 70 years in 2003 and continues to operate smoothly while growing steadily. There are currently 26 Canadian investment dealers approved for direct access to both Pure Trading and the CNQ stock exchange.

www.PureTrading.ca

Media Inquiries may be directed to:
Larry Parnell
Vice President Corporate Communications
Hill and Knowlton Canada
416-413-4623
[email protected]