Federal Bill-38 fails

The federal government’s announcement of an early general election for November of this year has scuttled hopes of having Bill-38, the national financial services legislation, passed within the fall sitting of parliament, confirms Paul Kovacs, vice president of the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC).

Introduced by Finance Minister Paul Martin last year as a “white paper”, the reform legislation was expected to be tabled before the House of Commons this past Spring. However, minor complications pushed it into the Fall schedule and, subsequently, it failed to meet the agenda against the higher priority of the election.

The legislation will now have to be “repackaged” and subject to a Senate review before it can be brought before parliament again. “Assuming that parliament will be made up with more less the same people next year as this, I don’t anticipate any problems with getting the bill through,” comments Kovacs. However, should the banks attempt to stage a protest on grounds that Canada’s legislation is outdated by developments in the U.S., he adds, “we’ll be watching and ready”.