Jobs and Economic Growth Act (S.C. 2010, c. 12)
Full Document:
Assented to 2010-07-12
2001, c. 9Related Amendments to the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada Act
1835. Section 2 of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada Act is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order:
“payment card network operator”
« exploitant de réseau de cartes de paiement »
“payment card network operator” means an entity, as defined in section 3 of the Payment Card Networks Act, that operates or manages a payment card network, as defined in that section, including by establishing standards and procedures for the acceptance, transmission or processing of payment transactions and by facilitating the electronic transfer of information and funds.
1836. Section 3 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (2):
Marginal note:Objects — payment card network operators
(3) The objects of the Agency are also to
(a) supervise payment card network operators to determine whether they are in compliance with the provisions of the Payment Card Networks Act and its regulations;
(b) promote the adoption by payment card network operators of policies and procedures designed to implement the provisions of the Payment Card Networks Act and its regulations;
(c) monitor the implementation of voluntary codes of conduct that have been adopted by payment card network operators and that are publicly available, and to monitor any public commitments made by them regarding their commercial practices in relation to payment card networks; and
(d) promote public awareness about the obligations of payment card network operators under a voluntary code of conduct or under the Payment Card Networks Act.
1837. (1) Section 5 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (1):
Marginal note:Functions — Payment Card Networks Act
(1.1) The Commissioner shall also examine and inquire into, and report to the Minister from time to time on, all matters connected with the administration of the Payment Card Networks Act and its regulations.
(2) Section 5 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (2):
Marginal note:Personal information
(2.1) The Commissioner may also collect any personal information that he or she considers necessary in furtherance of the objects described in subsection 3(3).
(3) Section 5 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (3):
Marginal note:Review
(3.1) If a payment card network operator has adopted a voluntary code of conduct or made a public commitment referred to in paragraph 3(3)(c), the Commissioner may make or cause to be made any review that he or she considers necessary to monitor compliance with the code or the commitment, as the case may be.
(4) Section 5 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (5):
Marginal note:Activities
(6) The Commissioner may also carry on any activity that he or she considers necessary in furtherance of the objects described in subsection 3(3).
1838. The Act is amended by adding the following after section 7:
Marginal note:Agreements — payment card network operators
7.1 In order to carry out the objects described in paragraph 3(3)(c), the Agency, in the name of Her Majesty in right of Canada or in its own name, may enter into an agreement with a payment card network operator, including an agreement respecting the provision of information or the payment of fees.
1839. The Act is amended by adding the following after section 14:
Marginal note:Ownership — payment card network operators
14.1 The Commissioner, a person appointed under subsection 4(4) or a Deputy Commissioner shall not hold, directly or indirectly, any interest or right in any shares of a payment card network operator.
1840. (1) Section 16 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (1):
Marginal note:No grant or gratuity — payment card network operators
(1.1) The Commissioner, a person appointed under subsection 4(4), a Deputy Commissioner and any person appointed under section 10 shall not accept or receive, directly or indirectly, any grant or gratuity from a payment card network operator, or any of its directors, officers or employees, and no payment card network operator, or any of its directors, officers or employees shall make or give any such grant or gratuity.
(2) The portion of subsection 16(2) of the Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Offence and punishment
(2) Every person, financial institution, bank holding company, insurance holding company or payment card network operator that contravenes subsection (1) or (1.1) is guilty of an offence and liable
1841. Section 17 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (2):
Marginal note:Confidential information — payment card network operators
(3) Subject to subsection (4) and except as otherwise provided in this Act, information regarding the business or affairs of a payment card network operator, or regarding persons dealing with one, that is obtained by the Commissioner or by a person acting under the direction of the Commissioner, in the course of the exercise or performance of powers, duties and functions under subsection 5(1.1) or (2.1), and any information prepared from that information, is confidential and shall be treated accordingly.
Marginal note:Disclosure permitted
(4) If the Commissioner is satisfied that the information will be treated as confidential by the person to whom it is disclosed, the Commissioner may disclose it to the Deputy Minister of Finance, or any officer of the Department of Finance authorized in writing by the Deputy Minister of Finance, for the purpose of policy analysis related to the regulation of payment card network operators.
1842. (1) Subsection 18(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Commissioner to ascertain expenses
18. (1) The Commissioner shall, before December 31 in each year, ascertain the total amount of expenses incurred during the immediately preceding fiscal year for or in connection with the administration of this Act and the consumer provisions — excluding the expenses incurred in connection with the objects described in subsection 3(3) — and the amounts of any prescribed categories of those expenses in relation to any prescribed group of financial institutions.
(2) Section 18 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (5):
Marginal note:Commissioner to ascertain expenses — payment card network operators
(5.1) The Commissioner shall, before December 31 in each year, ascertain the total amount of expenses incurred during the immediately preceding fiscal year in connection with the objects described in paragraphs 3(3)(a), (b) and (d).
Marginal note:Amount conclusive
(5.2) The amount ascertained under subsection (5.1) is final and conclusive for the purposes of this section.
Marginal note:Assessment
(5.3) As soon as possible after ascertaining the amount under subsection (5.1), the Commissioner shall assess a portion of the total amount of expenses against each payment card network operator to the extent and in the manner that may be prescribed.
Marginal note:Interim assessment
(5.4) The Commissioner may, during each fiscal year, prepare an interim assessment against any payment card network operator.
Marginal note:Assessment is binding
(5.5) Every assessment and interim assessment is final and conclusive and binding on the payment card network operator against which it is made.
1843. (1) Subsection 19(1) of the Act is amended by adding the following after paragraph (a):
(a.1) designating, as a violation that may be proceeded with under sections 20 to 31, the contravention of a specified provision of the Payment Card Networks Act or its regulations;
(a.2) designating, as a violation that may be proceeded with under sections 20 to 31, the non-compliance with an agreement entered into under section 7.1;
Marginal note:2007, c. 6, s. 436
(2) Subsection 19(2) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Maximum penalties
(2) The maximum penalty for a violation is $50,000 in the case of a violation that is committed by a natural person, and $200,000 in the case of a violation that is committed by a financial institution or a payment card network operator.
1844. Section 21 of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:How act or omission may be proceeded with
21. If a contravention or non-compliance that is designated under paragraph 19(1)(a) or (a.1) can be proceeded with either as a violation or as an offence, proceeding in one manner precludes proceeding in the other.
1845. Subsection 22(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Commission of violation
22. (1) Every contravention or non-compliance that is designated under paragraphs 19(1)(a) to (a.2) constitutes a violation and the person that commits the violation is liable to a penalty determined in accordance with sections 19 and 20.
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