LIVE AT 2:30 MT Evacuation order issued for some Fort McMurray neighbourhoods as wildfire nears
Four Fort McMurray neighbourhoods were ordered to evacuate as a wildfire gets closer to the city.
A government working group on so-called open banking recommends that a regulated system for sharing personal financial data with third parties like robo-advisors and budgeting apps be put in place by 2023.
The report released Wednesday by the Advisory Committee on Open Banking said that the timeline is "ambitious" but that it's important to roll out a system quickly because technology has outstripped regulation in a rapidly changing financial services industry.
More than four million Canadians already use some form of open banking -- which involves granting third-parties such as financial technology companies access to bank data -- but that some current practices create security and liability risks.
Most third-party apps currently ask a user to input the username and password they use to access their bank account online. In the open banking report, the advisory group says allowing third-party access to banking usernames and passwords may violate service agreements and result in consumers unknowingly bearing the risk of loss.
In order to make the 2023 timeline achievable, the report proposes that third parties be allowed to access. but not change, financial data under initial regulations. The system could then be expanded in the future to allow third parties to complete tasks like payments and account creation.
Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland welcomed the report, saying in a statement that she looks forward to reviewing the recommendations.
"Working towards a regulated, made-in-Canada system will make sure that we continue to enjoy a strong, stable; and innovative financial sector," she said.
Patrick Searle, director of cyber initiatives at the Council of Canadian Innovators, said in a statement that he hopes the government moves quickly in reviewing the recommendations.
"To date, Canada has been slow to roll out a regime for open banking and has fallen behind other jurisdictions in introducing an agile regulatory framework that allows new entrants and new technologies to safely and securely enter the regulated sector," said Searle.
"The last federal budget contained zero references to this important policy initiative of the government."
The report recommends that all federally regulated banks be required to participate, while it would be optional for provincially-regulated institutions such as credit unions.
It says small and medium businesses should also be given initial access along with consumers.
The committee also recommends the government appoint someone responsible for further consultations and seeing the system through a set timeline.
The advisory committee first launched a review of the merits of open banking in 2018 at the request of the Minister of Finance, while this second, more in-depth review was launched in January 2020.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published August 4, 2021.
Four Fort McMurray neighbourhoods were ordered to evacuate as a wildfire gets closer to the city.
Canadian LifeLabs customers who filed an application for a class-action settlement began receiving their payments this week, though at a much lower amount than initially expected.
Nobel laureate Alice Munro, the Canadian literary giant who became one of the world's most esteemed contemporary authors and one of history's most honoured short story writers, has died at age 92.
Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health is stepping down.
Wildfires have led Environment Canada to issue air quality advisories for parts of B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories, as forecasters warn the smoke could drift farther east.
Saskatchewan RCMP have revealed that a historic sexual assault investigation has led to the discovery of alleged crimes against children dating back to 2005.
An American accused of sexually assaulting a Pennsylvania college student in 2013 and later sending her a Facebook message that said, 'So I raped you,' has been detained in France after a three-year search.
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
Ontario Provincial Police are responding to a fatal collision involving two vehicles on Highway 417 in Ottawa's west end on Tuesday morning.
A team is ready to help an entangled North Atlantic right whale in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
A $200 reward is being offered by a North Vancouver family for the safe return of their beloved chicken, Snowflake.
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
Mother's Day can be a difficult occasion for those who have lost or are estranged from their mom.
YES Theatre Young Company opened its acclaimed kids’ show, One Small Step, at Sudbury Theatre Centre on Saturday.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.