Canada Education Savings Grant

Purpose

The purpose of this information bulletin is to provide further information on the last changes to the Promoter Agreements (April 2009) pertaining to paragraph 3.8 (e) and how it relates to the compliance review process.

Background

In April 2009 all Promoter Agreements with Human Resources and Skills Development Canada were renewed. These agreements contained a new clause under the Audit Books and Records section.

This addition is part of the program's continuing efforts to improve the accountability and stewardship of the incentives we administer.

The new clause confirms the promoter's commitment to address observations made during a compliance review and HRSDC's right to take appropriate action should compliance issues not be addressed.

Compliance Review Process

The Canada Education Savings Program (CESP) conducts regular compliance reviews of all RESP promoters. The purpose of these reviews is to ensure that promoter practices and procedures related to the administration of Canada Education Savings Grants, Canada Learning Bonds and Alberta Centennial Education Savings Grants comply with the related legislation, regulations, policies and agreements.

1. CESP provides a compliance review report to an RESP promoter within 60 days following a review, and the promoter has 30 days to provide a detailed corrective action plan.

2. CESP will follow-up with the promoter to validate if the action plan has been implemented within the agreed upon time frame. Should the corrective measures identified in the promoter's action plan not be addressed within the agreed upon time frames, HRSDC would consider the promoter to be in breach of the Promoter Agreement.

3. In this case, HRSDC will formally notify senior management within the organization to address the outstanding corrective measures. The promoter will have 60 days to correct the breach or another period specified by the Minister.

4. If the corrective measures are still not addressed, the promoter would be considered to be in default of the Promoter Agreement and HRSDC has the option to invoke the suspension of payments until the situation is remedied under section 5.4 of the Promoter Agreement. In this case, HRSDC will provide a written notice of its intention to suspend payments by registered mail to the signatory of the Promoter Agreement at the address currently on file. If corrective actions are not taken within 60 days, grant payments will be suspended.

It is HRSDC's intention to work together with RESP promoters to improve the administration of education savings incentives while at the same time, maintaining the integrity and stewardship of the government's investment in the future education of Canada's children.

If you have any questions regarding this Information Bulletin, please send your inquiries to the CESP general delivery mailbox cesp-pcee@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca