On October 5, Quebec's finance minister, Carlos J. Leitão, tabled Bill 141 governing the financial sector. The initial indications are that the Act respecting the distribution of financial products and services will be amended in three ways that will have a direct effect on our industry.

The draft legislation amounts to a large-scale revamp of the various laws governing the financial sector. A number of goals are set out in the introductory explanatory notes:

• Authorize firms to sell financial products and services via technological means.
• Do away with the Chambre de la sécurité financière (CSF) and the Chambre de l’assurance de dommages (CHAD).
• Give the AMF responsibility for overseeing insurance representatives' professional activities, including ethics and training.

Immediate impacts?

It should be noted that the new legislation will not be adopted immediately. A series of steps first must be completed, including private consultations with industry stakeholders.
Our legal team is currently working to demystify the details of the draft legislation. We will gather the information together in an article that will appear in the next issue of Liaison+, slated for publication next Monday (October 16).

Leading figures at the RCCAQ convention

Bill 141 is sure to change our industry in various ways. Finance minister Carlos J. Leitão and AMF president/CEO Louis Morisset will be speaking at the RCCAQ's 44th annual convention and will be discussing political and legislative changes respectively. Would you like to attend these events? Act today—places are limited!