Consultation on Upholding the Integrity of Canada’s Financial Sector
Current status: Closed
The Department of Finance launched consultations on the federally regulated financial institutions statutes as part of the financial sector legislative review announced in Budget 2022. Sunset dates in the financial institutions statutes, currently set at June 30, 2025, provide an opportunity to regularly review Canada’s financial sector framework. This consultation sought views and written submissions on how the legislative and policy framework should adapt to help address the challenges Canadians face in accessing financial services, as well as to technological and geopolitical trends. Views and feedback will be used to inform development of policy, legislative, and regulatory proposals.
This engagement process gave all interested members of the public the opportunity to provide input on the main topics. The consultation ran from October 5, 2023 to December 4, 2023. Thank you to everyone who participated.
Key questions for consideration
This consultation sought feedback on:
- Emerging risks and additional measures needed to protect the national security and integrity of the financial sector and maintain Canadians’ confidence in their financial institutions.
- Risks and benefits of potential consolidation in the federal financial sector, the emergence of new financial services providers, and financial institutions’ global expansion while continuing to serve the best interests of Canadians.
- Additional protections to ensure Canadians receive high-quality, low-cost banking services, easy access to banking services, including cost barriers.
- How should the framework adapt to artificial intelligence (A.I.) and other innovations used in the financial sector and harness the benefits while managing the risks to ensure responsible innovation?
- How to improve federal-provincial collaboration to address pressing financial sector policy issues, given shared responsibilities for the financial sector.
What’s next?
Comments received during the consultation period will inform the Department of Finance’s ongoing work on the legislative review. We will consider any potential changes to the federally regulated financial institutions statutes in light of the feedback received. While this formal consultation has now concluded, the Department has also launched a second, more targeted consultation on Strengthening Competition in the Financial Sector. Canadians are welcome to reach out to the Department of Finance with any questions or comments by emailing legreview-examenleg@fin.gc.ca.