Financial Consumer Agency of Canada Act (S.C. 2001, c. 9)

Marginal note:Ownership — payment card network operators

14.1 The Commissioner, a person appointed under subsection 4(4), the Senior Deputy Commissioner, a person appointed under subsection 7.2(2) or a Deputy Commissioner must not hold, directly or indirectly, any interest or right in any shares of a payment card network operator.

Marginal note:Ownership — participating entities, etc.

15 The Commissioner, a person appointed under subsection 4(4), the Senior Deputy Commissioner, a person appointed under subsection 7.2(2) or a Deputy Commissioner must not hold, directly or indirectly, any interest or right in any shares of a participating entity or the technical standards body.

Marginal note:No grant or gratuity to be made

• 16 (1) The Commissioner, a person appointed under subsection 4(4), the Senior Deputy Commissioner, a person appointed under subsection 7.2(2), a Deputy Commissioner and any person appointed under section 10 must not accept or receive, directly or indirectly, any grant or gratuity from a financial institution, a bank holding company, an insurance holding company or the external complaints body or from a director, officer or employee of any of them and a financial institution, a bank holding company, an insurance holding company and the external complaints body, and any director, officer or employee of any of them, must not make or give any such grant or gratuity.

• Marginal note:No grant or gratuity — payment card network operators

  (1.1) The Commissioner, a person appointed under subsection 4(4), the Senior Deputy Commissioner, a person appointed under subsection 7.2(2), a Deputy Commissioner and any person appointed under section 10 must not accept or receive, directly or indirectly, any grant or gratuity from a payment card network operator or any of its directors, officers or employees, and a payment card network operator or any of its directors, officers or employees must not make or give any such grant or gratuity.

• Marginal note:No grant or gratuity — participating entities, etc.

  (1.2) The Commissioner, a person appointed under subsection 4(4), the Senior Deputy Commissioner, a person appointed under subsection 7.2(2), a Deputy Commissioner and any person appointed under section 10 must not accept or receive, directly or indirectly, any grant or gratuity from a participating entity or the technical standards body, or any of their directors, officers or employees, and a participating entity or the technical standards body, or any of their directors, officers or employees, must not make or give any such grant or gratuity.

• Marginal note:Offence and punishment

  (2) Every person, financial institution, bank holding company, insurance holding company, payment card network operator, participating entity or technical standards body that contravenes subsection (1), (1.1) or (1.2) is guilty of an offence and liable

  • (a) on summary conviction, to a fine of not more than $2000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than six months or to both; or

  • (b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine of not more than $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than five years or to both.

Confidentiality

Marginal note:Confidential information

• 17 (1) Subject to subsection (2) and except as otherwise provided in this Act, information regarding the business or affairs of a financial institution or of the external complaints body or regarding persons dealing with a financial institution or with the external complaints body that is obtained by the Commissioner or by any person acting under the Commissioner’s direction, in the course of the exercise or performance of powers, duties and functions referred to in subsections 5(1) and (2) and 5.1(2), and any information prepared from that information, is confidential and shall be treated accordingly.

• Marginal note:Disclosure permitted

  (2) If the Commissioner is satisfied that the information will be treated as confidential by the agency, body or person to whom it is disclosed, subsection (1) does not prevent the Commissioner from disclosing it

  • (a) to any government agency or body that regulates or supervises financial institutions, for purposes related to that regulation or supervision;

  • (b) to any other agency or body that regulates or supervises financial institutions, for purposes related to that regulation or supervision;

  • (c) to the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation or any compensation association designated by order of the Minister pursuant to subsection 449(1) or 591(1) of the Insurance Companies Act, for purposes related to its operation; and

  • (d) to the Deputy Minister of Finance or any officer of the Department of Finance authorized in writing by the Deputy Minister of Finance or to the Governor of the Bank of Canada or any officer of the Bank of Canada authorized in writing by the Governor of the Bank of Canada, for the purposes of policy analysis related to the regulation of financial institutions.

• Marginal note:Confidential information — payment card network operators

  (3) Subject to subsection (4) and except as otherwise provided in this Act, information regarding the business or affairs of a payment card network operator, or regarding persons dealing with one, that is obtained by the Commissioner or by a person acting under the direction of the Commissioner, in the course of the exercise or performance of powers, duties and functions under subsection 5(1.1) or (2.1), and any information prepared from that information, is confidential and shall be treated accordingly.

• Marginal note:Disclosure permitted

  (4) If the Commissioner is satisfied that the information will be treated as confidential by the person to whom it is disclosed, the Commissioner may disclose it to

  • (a) the Deputy Minister of Finance, or any officer of the Department of Finance authorized in writing by the Deputy Minister of Finance, for the purpose of policy analysis related to the regulation of payment card network operators; or

  • (b) the Governor of the Bank of Canada, or any officer of the Bank of Canada authorized in writing by the Governor of the Bank of Canada, for the purpose of carrying out the Bank of Canada’s objects under the Retail Payment Activities Act or, in relation to a provision of that Act that is not in force, for the purpose of planning to carry out those objects.

• Marginal note:Confidential information — participating entities, etc.

  (5) Subject to subsection (6) and except as otherwise provided in this Act, information regarding the business or affairs of a participating entity, the external complaints body or the technical standards body, or regarding persons dealing with a participating entity, the external complaints body or the technical standards body, that is obtained by the Senior Deputy Commissioner or by a person acting under the direction of the Senior Deputy Commissioner, in the course of the exercise or performance of powers, duties and functions under section 7.3, and any information prepared from that information, is confidential and must be treated accordingly.

• Marginal note:Disclosure permitted

  (6) If the Senior Deputy Commissioner is satisfied that the information will be treated as confidential by the agency, body or person to whom it is disclosed, subsection (5) does not prevent the Senior Deputy Commissioner from disclosing it

  • (a) to any government agency or body that regulates or supervises financial institutions or participating entities, for purposes related to that regulation or supervision;

  • (b) to any other agency or body that regulates or supervises financial institutions or participating entities, for purposes related to that regulation or supervision;

  • (c) to the Governor of the Bank of Canada or any officer of the Bank of Canada authorized in writing by the Governor of the Bank of Canada, for purposes related to the regulation or supervision of participating entities; and

  • (d) to the Deputy Minister of Finance or any officer of the Department of Finance authorized in writing by the Deputy Minister of Finance, for the purposes of policy analysis related to the regulation of financial institutions or participating entities.

Assessments

Marginal note:Commissioner to ascertain expenses

• 18 (1) The Commissioner shall, before December 31 in each year, ascertain the total amount of expenses incurred during the immediately preceding fiscal year for or in connection with the administration of this Act and the consumer provisions — excluding the expenses incurred in connection with the objects described in subsection 3(3) — and the amounts of any prescribed categories of those expenses in relation to any prescribed group of financial institutions and the external complaints body.

• Marginal note:Commissioner to ascertain expenses — direction

  (1.1) After the publication of a notice under subsection 5.1(5), the Commissioner shall ascertain the amount of expenses that the Agency incurred in complying with the direction.

• Marginal note:Amount conclusive

  (2) The amounts ascertained under subsections (1) and (1.1) are final and conclusive for the purposes of this section.

• Marginal note:Assessment

  (3) As soon as possible after ascertaining the amounts under subsections (1) and (1.1), the Commissioner shall assess a portion of the total amount of expenses against each financial institution and the external complaints body to the extent and in the manner that the Governor in Council may, by regulation, prescribe.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (3.1) No assessment is to be made in respect of

  • (a) a company to which the Insurance Companies Act applies that was exempt from the application of paragraphs 165(2)(f) and (g) and sections 479 to 489.2 of that Act during the entire fiscal year to which the assessment relates; or

  • (b) a foreign company to which that Act applies that was exempt from the application of sections 598 to 607.1 of that Act during the entire fiscal year to which the assessment relates.

• Marginal note:Interim assessment

  (4) The Commissioner may, during each fiscal year, prepare an interim assessment against any financial institution or the external complaints body.

• Marginal note:Assessment for financial literacy

  (4.1) The Commissioner may, during a fiscal year, impose an assessment against any financial institution to cover some or all of the expenses related to initiatives to strengthen the financial literacy of Canadians.

• Marginal note:Assessment is binding

  (5) Every assessment and interim assessment is final and conclusive and binding on the financial institution against which it is made or the external complaints body, as the case may be.

• Marginal note:Commissioner to ascertain expenses — payment card network operators

  (5.1) The Commissioner shall, before December 31 in each year, ascertain the total amount of expenses incurred during the immediately preceding fiscal year in connection with the objects described in paragraphs 3(3)(a), (b) and (d).

• Marginal note:Amount conclusive

  (5.2) The amount ascertained under subsection (5.1) is final and conclusive for the purposes of this section.

• Marginal note:Assessment

  (5.3) As soon as possible after ascertaining the amount under subsection (5.1), the Commissioner shall assess a portion of the total amount of expenses against each payment card network operator to the extent and in the manner that may be prescribed.

• Marginal note:Interim assessment

  (5.4) The Commissioner may, during each fiscal year, prepare an interim assessment against any payment card network operator.

• Marginal note:Assessment is binding

  (5.5) Every assessment and interim assessment is final and conclusive and binding on the payment card network operator against which it is made.

• Marginal note:Recovery

  (6) Every assessment and interim assessment constitutes a debt due to Her Majesty, is immediately payable and may be recovered as a debt in any court of competent jurisdiction.

• Marginal note:Interest

  (7) Interest may be charged on the unpaid amount of an assessment or interim assessment at a rate equal to the rate prescribed under the Income Tax Act for amounts payable by the Minister of National Revenue as refunds of overpayments of tax under that Act in effect from time to time plus 2%.

Administrative Monetary Penalties

Violations

Marginal note:Regulations

• 19 (1) The Governor in Council may make regulations

  • (a) designating, as a violation that may be proceeded with under sections 20 to 31, the contravention of a specified consumer provision, or the non-compliance with

    • (i) a compliance agreement entered into under an Act listed in Schedule 1, and

    • (ii) terms and conditions, undertakings or directions referred to in subparagraph 3(2)(a)(ii).

  • (a.1) designating, as a violation that may be proceeded with under sections 20 to 31, the contravention of a specified provision of the Payment Card Networks Act or its regulations;

  • (a.2) designating, as a violation that may be proceeded with under sections 20 to 31, the non-compliance with an agreement entered into under section 7.1;

  • (b) fixing, in accordance with subsection (2), a penalty, or a range of penalties, in respect of any violation;

  • (c) respecting the service of documents required or authorized to be served under sections 20 to 31, including the manner and proof of service and the circumstances under which documents are deemed to be served;

  • (c.1) prescribing the circumstances in which the Commissioner shall not make public, under subsection 31(1), the name of the person who committed the violation; and

  • (d) generally, for carrying out the purposes and provisions of this section and sections 20 to 31.

• Marginal note:Maximum penalties

  (2) The maximum penalty for a violation is $1,000,000 in the case of a violation that is committed by a natural person, and $10,000,000 in the case of a violation that is committed by a financial institution or a payment card network operator.

Marginal note:Criteria for penalty

20 Except if a penalty is fixed under paragraph 19(1)(b), the amount of a penalty shall, in each case, be determined taking into account

• (a) the degree of intention or negligence on the part of the person who committed the violation;

• (b) the harm done by the violation;

• (c) the duration of the violation;

• (d) the ability of the person who committed the violation to pay the penalty;

• (e) the history of the person who committed the violation with respect to any prior violation or conviction under an Act listed in Schedule 1 within the five-year period immediately before the violation; and

• (f) any other criteria that may be prescribed.