Financial Consumer Agency of Canada’s whistleblower program for employees of federally regulated banks

From: Financial Consumer Agency of Canada

As part of its mandate to supervise Canadian banks’ compliance with consumer protection measures, the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) has created a whistleblower program for bank employees who want to report a wrongdoing to FCAC in accordance with the Bank Act.

Understanding the whistleblowing provisions in the Bank Act

The whistleblowing provisions in the Bank Act encourage and facilitate the reporting of wrongdoings by bank employees to FCAC, banks (including federal credit unions), Authorized Foreign Banks (collectively, Banks) and/or other authorities. They do this by:

ensuring that a Bank employee who reports a wrongdoing can keep their identity, and any information that could reasonably be expected to reveal it, confidential, with limited exceptions
prohibiting Banks from taking retaliatory action against an employee who reports or refuses to engage in a wrongdoing

Retaliatory actions include dismissing, suspending, harassing or otherwise disadvantaging an employee, or denying the employee a benefit of employment, because:

the employee reported a wrongdoing
the employee refused to engage in a wrongdoing
the employee prevented a wrongdoing from being committed or stated an intention to do so
a Bank believes that an employee may do any of the above

If you are a Bank employee who has reasonable grounds to believe that a Bank has committed or intends to commit a wrongdoing, you should note that Banks must have policies and procedures in place to deal with wrongdoings reported by their employees. You may report a wrongdoing to:

the Bank
a government agency or body that regulates or supervises Banks, such as FCAC or the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions
a law enforcement agency

FCAC’s Whistleblowing Program for bank employees

FCAC’s Whistleblowing Program provides general information to whistleblowers to help them submit whistleblower reports using a standardized form called the Whistleblower Report Form. This form enables FCAC to gather the information it needs to supervise Banks’ compliance with the consumer protection measures set out in legislation, codes of conduct and public commitments. This includes the timely and accurate disclosure of information to consumers about matters such as opening a bank account, the cost of borrowing for products such as credit cards and loans, and how to report a complaint.

FCAC may investigate a wrongdoing that relates to a Bank:

providing customers with incorrect information in disclosure documents (such as about fees or interest)
providing documents that are unclear, not simple, or misleading
failing to get customers’ express consent to purchase new products or services
not resolving consumer complaints through a Bank’s complaints handling process
offering or selling products or services that are inappropriate for consumers
exerting undue pressure on or coercing a person for any purpose
taking retaliatory action against an employee who has alleged a wrongdoing in accordance with the Bank Act, including in cases where the employee is no longer employed by the Bank

The reporting form guides the whistleblower through the process of providing information that FCAC needs to carry out its role.

FCAC’s investigation process and potential enforcement actions are outlined in FCAC’s Supervision Framework.

FCAC may share information with another government body or agency that regulates or supervises Banks, or a law enforcement agency where it is determined that the matter is relevant to the other body or agency’s mandate.

Confidentiality

FCAC must keep confidential the identity of a whistleblower who submits a report, and any information that could reasonably be expected to reveal their identity.

In some cases, FCAC may disclose this information to law enforcement or other regulators that oversee Banks if the disclosure is necessary for purposes related to an investigation.

FCAC must then make every reasonable effort to inform the whistleblower that their identity has been disclosed.

What to consider before reporting a wrongdoing to FCAC

Before you submit a report to FCAC, you must have reasonable grounds to believe that the Bank has committed a wrongdoing or intends to do so. In general, having reasonable grounds means that there is some reliable and/or credible information relating to the wrongdoing.

Information to submit

When you report a wrongdoing, the information you submit should, as much as possible, identify the relevant:

Bank policies or procedures, or
provisions of the Bank Act or the regulations, codes of conduct and/or public commitments

You should include details about:

the individual(s), group(s) or department(s) involved
what happened or is going to happen
when the wrongdoing occurred or may occur, including whether it is ongoing

Don't include documents in your report.

Deciding whether to report

If you're not sure whether FCAC’s Whistleblower Program applies to you, you can submit a report for FCAC to review.

If you would like to report a complaint to FCAC outside this program, please contact the Consumer Service Centre.

Contact information

You can decide how much personal information to provide. FCAC will accept reports with no, or partial, contact information. However, please note that if you submit a report without contact information, FCAC won't be able to communicate with you.

Submit a report to FCAC

You can submit a report to FCAC by completing the Whistleblower Report Form online. Please provide as much detail as possible. It takes approximately 30 minutes to complete the form.

For security purposes, inactivity of more than 30 minutes will result in a timeout, and any information you have entered up to that point won't be saved.

Complete the Whistleblower Report Form online.

You can also submit a report by mail by printing out the Whistleblower Report Form (PDF, 169 KB) and mailing the completed form to:

Financial Consumer Agency of Canada
Enforcement Division
427 Laurier Avenue West, 5th Floor–Reception
Ottawa, Ontario
K1R 1B9

Please don't include any documents with your form. FCAC will contact you if additional information or documents are needed.

FCAC expects you to provide only information relating to the wrongdoing that is currently in your possession or control.

After you submit a report

You will get a confirmation of receipt after you submit the form. It will include an identification number that is specific to your report. You should reference this number if you submit more information at a later date.

FCAC will review your report and may contact you to gather further information or documents.

If you submit a report by mail without any contact information, FCAC won't be able to provide a confirmation of receipt or contact you for additional information.

Providing additional information

If you have already submitted a Whistleblower Report Form and you want to provide additional information, use the Supplementary Whistleblower Report Form. Please include the identification number specific to your report.

Complete the Supplementary Whistleblower Report Form online.

You can also submit a Supplementary report by mail by printing out the Supplementary Whistleblower Report Form (PDF, 144 KB) and mailing the completed form to: