The regulation applies to financial institutions, financial intermediaries and credit assessment agents operating in Quebec. This is also far from being a simple adjustment. It is a true paradigm shift, according to Mr. Gabriel Querry, a partner at Langlois in the litigation group.

“We are moving from a system in which we had to adopt a complaint processing policy based on AMF guidelines to a harmonized and highly prescriptive framework for those subject to the Regulation,” he says.

Setting policy

The Regulation defines a complaint as “any reproach or dissatisfaction in respect of a service or product offered by a financial institution or a financial intermediary where the reproach or dissatisfaction is communicated by a person who is a member of the clientele of the financial institution or financial intermediary and a final response is expected.”

The need for a policy to process complaints remains in effect, but it must now comply with specific procedures. Among the new obligations are the use of simple and clear language in written and verbal interactions with the complainant, along with providing assistance to help the complainant express their complaint. If a complaint may have repercussions on other clients, it must be resolved.

Furthermore, section 17 goes as far as requiring those subject to the Regulation to inform the complainant when their problem concerns other institutions, intermediaries, or agents, and to help them communicate with those parties to file a complaint. This provision worries Mr. Querry. “This will have to be closely monitored, because the risks of abuse are obvious,” he believes. This section could open the door to defamation or even the temptation to shift the blame onto others.

The response does not settle everything

Those subject to the Regulation must put together a complaint file containing the documents listed in section 18 of the Regulation (complaint, acknowledgment of receipt, documents or information used in analyzing the complaint, etc.). They must also record the complaint in a register, send an acknowledgment of receipt to the complainant and, above all, provide a final response in writing no later than 60 days after receiving the complaint. Section 24 specifies all the elements that this response must contain, including a statement that it is a final response, a summary of the complaint, the reasoned conclusion of the analysis of the complaint, and the outcome of its processing.

However, an agreement with the client does not guarantee that the complaint will be withdrawn. The response must indeed remind the client that they can ask the AMF to review the case again. Furthermore, the syndic of the Chambre de la sécurité financière may continue or launch an investigation despite the agreement if it believes that protection of the public could be at risk. The new regulation therefore does not replace disciplinary law and does not reduce its scope.

The Regulation also requires periodic reporting to the financial intermediary’s management on matters such as the number and reasons for the complaints, the results of complaint processing, challenges related to implementing the policy, and issues raised by identifying common causes of complaints. The aim is to build a comprehensive picture of the complaints received, in order to identify their common causes and effectively address the issues they raise.

“These new requirements harmonize the processing of complaints, but they risk increasing the workload of independent advisors,” Mr. Querry fears.