February 15, 2024 Organization

Montréal – The Autorité des marchés financiers (the “AMF”) is publishing its Regulation respecting complaint processing and dispute resolution in the financial sector (PDF - 348 KB)This link will open in a new windowUpdated on February 12, 2024 (the “Regulation”), which is intended to standardize the way complaints are processed, to the benefit of Québec financial consumers.

The Regulation draws from domestic and international best practices. It also takes into account comments received in the course of two important consultations with stakeholders that helped improve the content of the Regulation. In line with the AMF's 2021-2025 Strategic Plan (pdf - 1 MB)This link will open in a new windowUpdated on April 23, 2021The 2021-2025 plan, which has the wholehearted support of the Advisory Board, not only establishes ambitious and engaging orientations and objectives but will help further a number of major initiatives implemented under the 2017-2020 Strategic Plan while taking into account issues raised in connection with recent changes in Québec’s financial services industry, including those resulting from the COVID 19 pandemic., the Regulation establishes a common set of rules, obligations and practices for the financial sector with respect to the process and timeframes to be observed when handling consumer complaints.

The Regulation is also intended to foster a culture of continuous improvement within the financial sector. For the AMF, it is crucial that businesses identify the causes common to the complaints they receive with a view to implementing solutions to address issues and ultimately improve their services to consumers.

The AMF, aware that implementing the Regulation will entail significant changes for the financial sector, is providing a transition period during which it will support businesses in implementing the required adjustments. The AMF will also be posting explanations on its website to assist businesses in understanding the new framework and will be providing a complaint processing policy template applicable to the practice of financial intermediaries.

Lastly, explanations of how the comments received during the second consultation were addressed by the AMF are being made available on its website (in French only; English version available upon request).

In its role as regulator, the Autorité des marchés financiers acts to maintain a financial sector that is dynamic, operates with integrity and warrants public confidence. It regulates, in whole or in part, activities in the following sectors: insurance, securities and derivatives, distribution of financial products and services, deposit institutions, mortgage brokerage and credit assessment.

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