Industry committee  I have nothing further.

Industry committee  Yes, the issue was about consent and the effect of providing consent to disclosure of information. I was simply making a point that an individual who is deemed at law to be mentally incapable is not able to provide valid legal consent for anything. That would apply also to a mino

Industry committee  I'm not sure I can comment on that.

Industry committee  The deletion has a two-fold purpose. “Next of kin” don't have any entitlement under law to personal information. “Next of kin” are also often the perpetrators of abuse. Including them as one of the options for financial institutions to report to perhaps tips the balance against

Industry committee  Right. I appreciate that, and in most instances, that.... I suppose one of the balances here is that if the language is left in the bill, the understanding then would be that the financial institution would have a broader range to exercise its discretion, and presumably would no

Industry committee  I don't think I can comment on the clause, but I would say that one thing to bear in mind is that someone who is not mentally capable at law cannot provide valid consent. What protection that adds is probably none.

Industry committee  They can. That case that was recently in the media actually did come through our office in a very preliminary way early on. The circumstances could be reported as abuse, but when it's a commercial operator, the chances are the report would go to the police rather than the Public

Industry committee  The loans haven't been particularly our experience, unless it is a situation where you have a vulnerable adult come into the bank with a new person in their life and unusual withdrawals are being taken and loans to this new person. That sort of thing is reported to us. With respe

Industry committee  Thank you. Yes, I would be happy to do that. Of course, my comments are very narrowly restricted to the ability of financial institutions to report. The Public Guardian and Trustee of British Columbia was working closely with the Canadian Bankers Association back when these pr

Industry committee  Thank you for the question. I do think it's the tip of the iceberg. There are several factors to consider. Number one is that public awareness of financial abuse, or the risk of financial abuse, is growing. I think we've seen this on a national level and certainly provincially.

Industry committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Good morning. I am the public guardian and trustee of British Columbia. I thank you for the opportunity to comment on Bill S-4 today. In addition to my oral comments, I have provided a written submission. My comments today are restricted to subclause 6(10)