Canada's Flaherty hopeful on national securities regulator

TORONTO Nov 20 (Reuters) - Canada's finance minister expressed optimism on Tuesday that federal and provincial authorities could reach a common position on the creation of a national securities regulator.

"We've made some significant progress. I don't want to be overly optimistic, but I think there is some prospect that we'll be able to get to a common position," Finance Minister Jim Flaherty told reporters after discussing the issue with Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan.