Finance Minister Eric Girard considers the situation at the Financial Security Chamber to be “worrying”, in response to the report by The Press on the mass departures of its investigators.
“Quebecers have the right to expect that self-regulatory organizations will provide efficient and professional service,” the minister said in an email from his office. “I will discuss with the Autorité des marchés financiers the follow-up to this situation; public protection is non-negotiable.”
The Chamber (CSF) is responsible for monitoring its approximately 34,000 members, financial and personal insurance advisors. But our reports reported yesterday that half of its investigators left its trustee’s office, which is responsible for shedding light on their breaches of laws and regulations.
The mayor, Claude Baril, herself has just resigned, after going on sick leave in August, just eight months after taking up her post.
With these mass departures, investigators find themselves with twice as many cases on their hands.
CSF CEO Marie Elaine Farley assured in a meeting with The Press that the situation was “temporary” and that the organization was working hard to recruit new staff.
Despite the questions of The Press On this subject, Minister Girard did not say whether the head of the House, in office for nine years, still had his confidence.
In interview with The Press On Tuesday, Marie Elaine Farley assured that her leadership “is proven.”
“I’ve managed change, I’ve overcome challenges in recent years,” she said. “I have the confidence of the board of directors.”
A “risk to investigations”
The report of The Press explains how 6 of the 11 investigators in the CSF trustee’s office have left their posts since July 2023. Another has just gone on sick leave. Only one investigator has been replaced, by a part-time consultant.
The AMF says it is taking the situation “very seriously.” “The elements raised mainly concern human resources issues that affect the CSF and that could ultimately affect public protection,” responded the Authority’s communications director, Sylvain Théberge.
He stresses that certain elements raised by our investigation “are already the subject of more specific steps”.
Staffing issues had already attracted the attention of the AMF, according to its last inspection report of the CSF, published in 2022. The Authority noted that the high turnover rate created a “risk for investigations”.
The AMF also pointed out that the average time to complete an investigation was 255 days, while the target is 180. In 2023, these times had increased to 270 days, according to the latest annual report from the CSF.
Read our journalist’s investigation into the mass departures at the Financial Security Chamber