By Kathleen Ann Rake
Dear RCCAQ members:
I am very pleased to be communicating with you via our e-magazine Liaison +.
As you know, we have lots of work ahead of us in the coming year. As the news media keep reminding us, we must remain vigilant if we are to successfully carry out our mandate of defending insurance brokers' socioeconomic interests.
We saw a recent example of this when the federal government introduced Bill C-29 in early December. It appears that certain provisions thereof took some people by surprise. Bill C-29, which seeks to amend the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, also makes changes to the Bank Act by removing banks from the scope of application of Quebec's Consumer Protection Act. Establishing a federal legal framework for consumer protection ensures uniform standards from coast to coast, but it could also weaken existing protection measures in Quebec and elsewhere.
Last week, however, under pressure from the Quebec government and the Senate, the Trudeau government reversed course and withdrew the controversial provision.
The insurance sector is not directly affected by Bill C-29, and my goal in raising this matter is not to deliver a judgment on the legislation as such. However, this episode is instructive insofar as it demonstrates that the banking lobby has clout with decision makers and must not be underestimated. It also serves as a reminder that we must keep up our own lobbying efforts at the provincial and federal levels in order to promote insurance brokers' interests and rights.
We are still waiting for Quebec's Bill 188 to be introduced. For the time being, all we can do is remain vigilant and maintain our contacts with key decision makers. Other battles lie ahead, with one of the largest being the review of the Bank Act in 2019. Although that may be two years from now, a good deal of lobbying work must be done in the interim.
As a result of one of the more recent amendments to the Bank Act, banking institutions were able to obtain an easing of the restrictions, thus enabling them to venture into the insurance sector, albeit with some major limitations. In 2016, however, RBC and National Bank sold off their insurance divisions to Aviva Canada and Belairdirect respectively. Whatever might have motivated those moves, a number of other banks continue to offer insurance and it is very likely that these financial giants will be undertaking further lobbying efforts designed to modify the legislation to their advantage. Our job will be to demonstrate that the banks' reinforced presence in the insurance sector would lead to the disappearance of many brokerage firms and smaller insurers, all of which would be unable to compete effectively with the big players. This would also lead to a drastic offer in the insurance offer.
Over the past three years, the RCCAQ has launched a number of initiatives aimed at defending its members' interests in the areas of tax harmonization, mandatory training and the illegal practices of some auto dealers. Each time, our tenacious lobbying of the government and the regulatory agencies, combined with your own mobilization efforts, delivered concrete results.
By applying this approach, we have boosted the RCCAQ's strength and credibility with respect to the key issues we face, both now and in the future.
In the near future, we will be implementing our Bank Act action plan and resuming our lobbying efforts in Ottawa. Against that backdrop, the strength of our network and the support of all brokerage firms for the RCCAQ's initiatives will be crucial. As we did over the past 12 months, we will be calling on you in 2017 to remain mobilized as we fight side by side to defend our profession.
Your efforts are greatly appreciated!
Kathleen Ann Rake
RCCAQ Chair
