Publications

The Securities Act [SA] allows the Autorité des marchés financiers [the “AMF”] to order investigations to ensure compliance with the SA and to repress contraventions which may be committed. This is the context in which the Court of Appeal handed down a decision on June 22, 2012 going to the very heart of the role played by the AMF’s investigators and the scope of their powers during examinations conducted in connection with an investigation.

On February 24, 2012, the Autorité des marchés financiers published, on its website, a notice of consultation entitled Notice and Request and Comment on Internet Insurance Offerings in Québec.This process follows the AMF’s analysis, initiated a few years ago of the issues relating to e-distribution of insurance products.It is a public consultation on certain proposals developed by the AMF in the context of its work on the evolution of online offering and distribution of insurance, the legal framework applicable in Quebec and elsewhere in the world and the current practices in the industry in Quebec. It will end on May 24, 2012.

The Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC, formerly known as the Investment Dealers Association of Canada (IDA)) is a self-regulatory organization recognized by the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), which mainly deals with disciplinary complaints against its members. For this purpose, the IIROC has supervisory and investigative powers as well as the power to impose disciplinary sanctions. It can impose various penalties on its members, including fines.

The use of social media, discussion forums and other websites for business purposes, as a means of communicating with the public, raises increasingly significant compliance issues for regulated entities of the financial sector. Such use may expose registered or certified representatives and, consequently, their firms, to previously unheard of but nonetheless real non compliance and reputational risks.

On May 4, 2011, an important Bill was presented by the Minister for Finance, Mr. Alain Paquet.The effect of Bill 7, entitled An Act to amend various legislative provisions concerning the financial sector, is, among other things, to amend section 115 of the Act respecting the distribution of financial products and services (“ARDFPS”) and to add sections 115.1 to 115.9 ARDFPS. 

On March 11, 2011, the Autorité des marchés financiers (the “AMF”) published a draft Commercial Practices Guideline, which is available for public consultation on the website of the AMF until April 22, 2011.This Guideline constitutes a statement of principle on the expectations of the AMF concerning the sound commercial practices of insurers and financial institutions. This process is part of the mandate of oversight and “prudential supervision” that was entrusted to the AMF following the recent decline in the financial markets.Through the proposed measures, the AMF is seeking a firm commitment from the boards of directors and senior officers of insurance companies for the application of the “best practices” in their management and operations in order to promote public confidence.This bulletin primarily discusses the scope of the application of the Guideline to insurers.