Auto Trading Broker Data available to Indicators

Hi, Unfortunately the IIROC (Investment Industry Regulatory Organization Of Canada) has blocked Interactive Brokers from taking API orders for all Canadian exchanges for all Brokers world wide. https://www.iiroc.ca/industry/Pages/Dealers-We-Regulate.aspx
I dumped a response to my complaint to the IIROC below. I am currently doing a lot of programming to both control IB's TWS and to get data from IB's TWS as a work around for this problem. I will be emailing IB's API department to ask if they are going to implement DEA as mentioned below. At the same time it would be useful if the commands in MultiCharts which are available to signals were also available to indicators. I tried several commands to get open position data and they all return zero. The only data available seems to be insidebid and insideask which I am using but I have to go back in manually and adjust these values to get my actual price for putting lines on MultiCharts accurately through GVs. I am actually sending key strokes to TWS to export my trade log and grabbing it from that csv file (very Micky mouse as they say). Of course the other alternative is to stop trading Canadian Stocks completely and only trade US stocks. I told the IIROC that I might do that. If these programming changes do not work out that is what I will do.

I am thinking it might be better MC to work with IB to implement DEA as mentioned below. Then I would do what I had planned on doing before I discovered this problem. However who knows how long this will all take (maybe never). In the mean time I plot on to get out of the ditch a they say.

Thanks,
John

Dear Mr. Bowles,
Thank you for your email.

The IIROC rule prohibiting order execution only (OEO) clients from using their own automated order system to transmit or generate orders has been in place since March 2014 (IIROC Notice 13-0184 – Provisions Respecting Third-Party Electronic Access to Marketplaces (July 4, 2013)). This prohibition is specific to OEO clients.

Clients that wish to use an algorithm to generate orders can do so as long as they access the marketplace using direct electronic access (DEA). The difference between OEO and DEA is that dealers who provide DEA are subject to additional requirements, such as having the ability to override or disable a malfunctioning “runaway” algorithms.

For a complete list of IIROC regulated investment dealers, please see the Who We Regulate section of our website. Unfortunately, IIROC does not publish a list of investment dealers that specifically offer DEA access.

IIROC is the national self-regulatory organization that oversees all investment dealers and their trading activity in Canada’s debt and equity markets. IIROC sets high quality regulatory and investment industry standards, protects investors and strengthens market integrity while supporting healthy Canadian capital markets. IIROC carries out its regulatory responsibilities through setting and enforcing rules regarding the proficiency, business and financial conduct of more than 170 Canadian investment dealer firms and their more than 29,000 registered employees, the majority of whom are commonly referred to as investment advisors. IIROC also sets and enforces market integrity rules regarding trading activity on Canadian debt and equity marketplaces.

Regards,
Harry Apostolatos
Sr. Complaints & Inquiries Specialist
Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada
121 King St. W., Ste. 2000, Toronto, Ontario M5H 3T9
Toll free: 1-877-442-4322 | Fax: 416-364-0753
investorinquiries@iiroc.ca
IIROC: Protecting Investors and Fostering Fair and Efficient Capital Markets across Canada.