Evidence of meeting #25 for Finance in the 39th Parliament, 2nd session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was billion.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Massimo Pacetti Liberal Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC
So the market forces would set that? It would be up to competition and competitors.
You say there's been an increase in complaints. What type of complaints do you see? Is there a particular type, or are they about a certain type of sector? Is it banking, or insurance, or credit card companies?
Commissioner, Financial Consumer Agency of Canada
Actually, it's not correct to say that we've seen an increase in complaints; we've actually seen a decrease in complaints. What we have seen is a significant increase in inquiries. There are many more people who know about us now. We get close to 150,000 hits a month on our website. A website clearly is not a complaint site; it is an information site. That's what's been going up.
Liberal
Commissioner, Financial Consumer Agency of Canada
Our complaints have actually been going down quite significantly.
Liberal
Massimo Pacetti Liberal Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC
The majority of complaints would still be in what sector or what area?
Commissioner, Financial Consumer Agency of Canada
We have a variety of complaints. Interestingly enough, I would say the majority of our complaints are in areas that don't really directly relate to our mandate; in other words, to compliance with legislation. The smaller number of complaints, well less than half—I don't have the figures right at my hand—deal with compliance issues. Those would be issues related to disclosure: account opening issues, credit card issues, mortgages, lines of credit—those kinds of things, primarily all disclosure issues.
Liberal
Massimo Pacetti Liberal Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC
That would be in your annual report, is that correct?
Commissioner, Financial Consumer Agency of Canada
That would be in my annual report.
Liberal
Massimo Pacetti Liberal Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC
The other item is insurance companies. Do you also have jurisdiction over the insurance companies?
Commissioner, Financial Consumer Agency of Canada
To the extent that they actually do consumer lending, I have. Fundamentally, I don't deal with products; I deal with the disclosure requirements. They normally don't have accounts, so to the extent that they make loans to consumers, either as direct loans—which usually doesn't happen, as it's usually mortgage lending that they do...the cost of borrowing regulations apply to them.
Liberal
Massimo Pacetti Liberal Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC
How about foreign entities? For example, I can think of ING. Would it be under your purview as well?
Commissioner, Financial Consumer Agency of Canada
To the extent that it does retail, yes, it is. They open accounts to retail customers, so yes, for example.
February 25th, 2008 / 4:50 p.m.
Liberal
Massimo Pacetti Liberal Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC
Is there a tendency for complaints to be geared more towards foreign banks or entities or towards local—or let's say Canadian—banks? Is there a tendency either way?
Jim Callon Deputy Commissioner, Financial Consumer Agency of Canada
Generally there isn't a trend towards foreign banks. Given the market that the domestic banks have, the majority of the complaints would be centred around the domestic banks.
Conservative
Bloc
Jean-Yves Laforest Bloc Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Good afternoon, I want to thank you for introducing us to your organization.
With respect to consumers' rights, particularly financial rights, your organization makes me think of David and Goliath. Given the magnitude of profits being raked in by banks and the means they have at their disposal, I often have the impression that no matter how efficient an organization is, it will never truly be able to counter the propaganda that is being spread by financial institutions in their dealings with clients.
I wonder to what extent what you are doing is sufficient. I do not doubt the quality of your work, but shouldn't we create a department of consumers' rights to better protect consumers in all areas, not just the financial sector?
Commissioner, Financial Consumer Agency of Canada
You are raising a question which in all honesty I am unable to answer. Generally speaking, I would say that one cannot lose sight of our twofold mandate. We not only ensure compliance with the law, which is very important: our institutions are very large and must comply with legislation. But we also have another very significant mandate with regard to consumer education. That is why I emphasized the high number of people who consult our website on a monthly basis. There was a significant increase in the number of website visitors over the last two years, which I am delighted to see, because it is important for people to become familiar with our website and obtain objective information.
Bloc
Jean-Yves Laforest Bloc Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC
I agree with you entirely on the fact that in the final analysis, you are making sure that financial institutions respect the rules and the laws. What I am trying to say—and this is not a trick question—is that if there were a department of consumer affairs, there would perhaps be a different set of laws, and consumers would possibly be better protected as a result. What you do, you do well. The banks are complying with legislation, but are the laws strong enough with respect to the rights of financial institutions? That is what I mean.
I will ask you another question. Have you carried out any studies on the types of clients? There are people who are less educated, illiterate, and on low incomes who are being solicited by the banks. Have you conducted any comparative studies on the penetration rates of advertizing campaigns that are targeted to these groups as compared to other groups that would have the means to defend themselves?
Commissioner, Financial Consumer Agency of Canada
No, we have not carried out any specific study on that. Obviously, we have figures which have been collected by others on this, and that is one of the reasons why we are increasing our efforts regarding clearer communication, to make sure that our information is clear and available to the vast majority of Canadians.
Bloc
Jean-Yves Laforest Bloc Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC
I have a final question. Your organization's funding comes from the financial institutions. At first glance, without presupposing any conflict of interest, it could raise the issue. Have consumers made any such comments to you?
Commissioner, Financial Consumer Agency of Canada
No, but it may be because I have not been there for very long. Many of the regulatory bodies at the federal level are indeed funded by the institutions they regulate.
Bloc
Jean-Yves Laforest Bloc Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC
These are the same as the organizations that are being monitored.
