Regulatory Initiative: Non-Financial Activities Regulations – Forward Regulatory Plan 2023-2025

 Non-Financial Activities Regulations 

Bank Act, Insurance Companies Act, Trust and Loans Companies Act

The Regulations establish the terms and conditions that are necessary to bring into force amendments made to the Bank Act, Insurance Companies Act, and Trust and Loan Companies Act via the Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 1. These amendments create new permissions for federally regulated financial institutions to undertake a broader range of non-financial activities, either in-house or through substantial or controlling investments in other entities, subject to terms and conditions. 

The legislative amendments and the Regulations are part of the broader federal financial sector framework.

The Department and partner agencies (the Office of the Superintendent of Financial institutions, the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, and the Bank of Canada) continuously work to ensure this framework is aligned with the work of the international organizations, such as Financial Action Task Force, the International Monetary Fund, and the Financial Stability Board.

The Department has not identified any aspects of the Regulations that would impede alignment of the federal financial framework with the work of these international organizations.

To be determined. The Small Business Lens is not expected to apply.

The initiative is the result of broad consultations held between 2016 and 2018 in the context of the periodical review of the federal financial sector framework (the Bank Act, the Insurance Companies Act, and the Trust and Loan Companies Act).

The initiative was identified by stakeholders as part of a series of potential legislative changes that could be advanced to ensure the financial institution statutes remain up to date, are technically sound, and respond to changes and emerging trends in the financial sector.

The Department held consultations on potential regulatory parameters in the Summer of 2021 with the Canadian Bankers Association, the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association, the Insurance Bureau of Canada, the Insurance Brokers Association of Canada, fintech industry associations (the Financial Data Aggregators and Technology Association, the Fintech Growth Syndicate and the Paytechs Association of Canada), and a number of Government agencies.

Interested stakeholders will have an opportunity to review and comment on the proposed regulations as part of the formal regulation-making process when the regulatory proposal is pre-published in the Canada Gazette, Part I.

Provincial and territorial officials will continue to be consulted through the regulatory amendment process.

Manuel Dussault
Director General, Financial Institutions Division
Financial Sector Policy Branch
Department of Finance Canada
90 Elgin St.
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0G5
Email: Manuel.Dussault@fin.gc.ca

July 2020