On September 29, 2025, the CFFiM delivered its response to the CSA Notice and Request for Comment 25-314, Proposed approach to oversight and refinements to the proposed binding authority framework for an identified ombudsman which had revisions to the CSA’s continued proposal that the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI) have binding decision making powers proposed in 2023 (the “Proposed Framework”).

The Proposed Framework’s stated intention is to provide investors with an improved system of redress and to promote investor confidence in Canada’s capital markets. These worthy goals are not supported by the Proposed Framework.

There is no credible justification for the Proposed Framework, which is unsupported by data or substantive analysis. The OBSI’s statistics indicate that its current recommendation-based regime is effective in resolving disputes, and that less than 1% of all cases that involve a financial recommendation result in a refusal or a low settlement. Similarly, the research does not support the premise that Canada has fallen behind international standards with respect to financial ombud services.

Based on the information provided, the Proposed Framework appears to violate section 96 of the Constitution Act, 1987.

The Proposed Framework undercuts the OBSI’s independence and impartiality and risks creating a tribunal that lacks procedural fairness for investors and the firms and individuals who service them.

The existing OBSI model has facilitated the resolution of thousands of disputes over the course of its 25-year history without the need for binding decision making powers. The OBSI’s data clearly demonstrates that refusals and low settlements are exceedingly rare. Those marginal cases could be effectively addressed through minimally intrusive reforms to the OBSI. Rather than fundamentally altering the OBSI’s structure at great risk to investors and firms alike, low settlements could be eliminated through enhancing the OBSI’s name and shame powers and introducing external mediation services to the OBSI’s process.