About the Council Rules Review Initiative
The Council Rules Review Initiative will examine each of the rules: the impact they have on licensees, the industry, and our mandate of public protection. The review will seek to identify provisions that need to be clarified or aligned with current practices, that might be outdated and in need of updating, or that could otherwise be more effective in achieving regulatory outcomes. Where it makes sense, we will bring forward proposed revisions to address these areas.
Any proposed changes to the existing rules will involve licensee and public consultation, approval by the voting members of Council, and ultimately must be submitted to the Minister of Finance for final approval.
Process
The nine Insurance Council Rules will be divided into groups for the purpose of review. Each group of rules will be reviewed, and proposed revisions to those rules will be brought to the voting members of Council to seek approval for public consultation. If approved, following a minimum 60-day consultation period, the feedback would be brought to Council to consider. Council would then decide if and when to submit the proposed rule changes to the Minister of Finance for review and final approval.
The process for each group of rules is as follows:
This process will be repeated for each group of proposed rule changes until all the rules have been reviewed. We expect this project to extend into 2023, owing to the volume and complexity of information to be considered, time necessary for consultation, and legislative requirements.
About Consultation
Under the Financial Institution Act Regulations, proposed changes to Insurance Council Rules are subject to public consultation. As a part of the consultation process for each group of proposed rule changes, the following will be made available to the licensees, the public and other stakeholders:
- The wording for proposed rule changes
- An explanation of the changes
- Information on how to provide feedback.
This information for each group of rule changes will be made available as they are confirmed for consultation by the voting members of Council.
Feedback on proposed rule changes will be collected and provided to the voting members of Council, and ultimately to the Minister of Finance, should the rule changes be submitted for her approval.