Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
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.
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that's expected to face legal challenges.
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
The U.S. Senate has passed US$95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Molly Knight, a Grade 4 student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.