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Request for Comment on the Independent Evaluation of the ADR Chambers Banking Ombuds Office
Introduction
The ADR Chambers Banking Ombuds Office (“ADRBO”) is an independent dispute-resolution service for consumers with complaints against their banks that could not be resolved by the consumers and the banks on their own. ADRBO is a free service, providing a valuable alternative to costly litigation. The work that ADRBO conducts is confidential and non-legalistic, and it aims to find fair outcomes to disputes.
Under the Bank Act, financial institutions including domestic banks, foreign banks and foreign branches, as well as federal credit unions, are required to provide their customers with the services of an External Complaints Body (“ECB”). Canada has two ECBs for banking complaints: ADRBO and the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (“OBSI”). ECBs are supervised by the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (“FCAC”).
The principal regulations under the Bank Act applicable to ADRBO’s operations are found in the Complaints (Banks, Authorized Foreign Banks and External Complaints Bodies) Regulations (the “Complaints Regulations”). The Complaints Regulations require each ECB to submit to a third-party evaluation every five years in accordance with terms of reference established in consultation with the Commissioner of the FCAC.
ADRBO is also subject to the guidance set out in CG-13 Application guide for external complaint bodies (“CG-13”), published by the FCAC.
Appointment of Independent Evaluator
ADRBO appointed Professor Poonam Puri to be the independent evaluator, a decision accepted by the FCAC. Professor Puri is one of Canada’s most respected leaders in business law. She is a Professor of Law and a former Associate Dean at Osgoode Hall Law School. She is the founder of Osgoode’s Business Law LL.M. program and the co-founder of its Investor Protection Clinic, the first of its kind in Canada. She has extensive experience in the organizational design and review of public sector and private organizations.
Independent Evaluation Timeline and Process
The evaluation is expected to conclude with a final report by the end of March 2022. Consultation with stakeholders is a key component of the evaluation. To facilitate consultation, the evaluator is requesting that stakeholders complete this survey, on a range of issues as set out below. The survey will close on January 31st, 2022 at 5 pm ET. Responses may be posted to ADRBO's website and used in the evaluator's final report unless confidentiality and/or anonymity is requested.
If you prefer not to complete this survey and instead send in separate written comments via a letter, please email them to pp@poonampuri.ca by January 31, 2021 at 5 pm ET.