Montreal Exchange Statement

On March 15, 1999, the four principal Canadian exchanges (Montreal, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver) announced an agreement to restructure along the lines of market specialization. Under the agreement, senior equities will be traded at the Toronto Stock Exchange, junior equities will be traded on a new exchange resulting from the merger of the Vancouver Stock Exchange and the Alberta Exchange, and the Montreal Exchange will be the exclusive market place for derivative products. Since the announcement, the Montreal Exchange cooperated fully with a special committee chaired by Mr. Jean Turmel, which was created by the Government of Quebec to examine the impact and consequences of the agreement. The Montreal Exchange has taken notice of the recommendation of this committee, which supported the implementation of the restructuring agreement and the market specialization of each exchange. The Montreal Exchange has completed the legal steps necessary for the implementation of the restructuring agreement, namely: Approval of the agreement by the Governing Committee of the Montreal Exchange; Approval by the members of the Montreal Exchange; Approval by the Commission des valeurs mobilières du Québec. In accordance with applicable laws, the Montreal Exchange is pursuing the regulatory process in other respects. The Montreal Exchange is currently implementing the restructuring agreement. The Exchange has communicated with all the companies exclusively listed in Montreal to inform them of the procedure for the implementation of the restructuring agreement. In implementing the new structure, the dateline established in the agreement of March 15 will be respected. The Montreal Exchange will have no further comment on this matter.