Madam Chair, I would.
Our amendment would add a new section to the Bank Act that would require the commissioner of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada to conduct regular unscheduled audits of bank policies and procedures to detect and prevent consumer-targeted fraud. If the commissioner finds that an institution's policies and procedures are ineffective, the commissioner shall impose the prescribed penalty on the institution.
Madam Chair, this comes from a recommendation in a written submission to this committee from Democracy Watch, which noted the following:
It is not enough to just require the banks to have policies and procedures in place. The Bank Act was changed in 2018 to add...two provisions requiring banks to have policies, procedures and training to ensure the financial interests of their customers are protected....
It went on to say:
...but the FCAC was not required in those provisions to audit the banks to ensure they comply with those provisions and, as a result, the FCAC has done nothing to ensure they actually comply....
The new anti-bank account fraud measures will also have little effect unless the FCAC is required to conduct regular, unannounced audits and to prosecute and penalize violations....
I would move this amendment as an effective way to strengthen anti-fraud provisions and hold financial institutions accountable.