A. Introduction

• Author: M.H. Ogilvie
• Profession: LSM, B.A., LL.B., M.A., D.Phil., D.D., F.R.S.C. Of the Bars of Ontario and Nova Scotia Chancellor's Professor and Professor of Law, Carleton University
• Pages: 24-25

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Since 1867, Parliament has exercised its jurisdiction over banking pursuant to section 91(15) of the Constitution Act, 1867, primarily through successive Bank Acts dating from the first temporary Act passed during the session of 1867-68 to the current Act, which has been in force since 1991, with numerous subsequent amendments.¹

The importance of the Bank Act cannot be overstated. It is the charter of, and applies to, every bank, domestic or foreign, operating in Canada, and it reflects current government policy about the financial institutions sector generally and about the economy. The present Act is the outcome of a quarter-century of intensive public policy debate in Canada about the financial institutions sector and is one of four major pieces of legislation introduced in 1991,²under which the entire federally regulated financial institutions sector operates, together with a web of provincial legislation relating

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to insurance companies, trust and loan companies, stock brokerages, credit unions, and caisses populaires that operate within a given province. The Bank Act is the centrepiece of this legislation.

Canadian banks are also part of an international network of banks providing cross-border payment and other services within the global economy. In addition to domestic legislation, Canadian banks comply with certain international banking standards to which Canada is a signatory, to ensure the efficiency, security, and solvency of cross-border payments systems. In this chapter, the regulatory framework, both domestic and foreign, for banks in Canada within the broad context of the financial institutions sector generally will be considered. In Chapter 3, the other legislation, regulating daily bank operations in particular, to ensure the safety and security of the...