FSRA Credit Unions Stakeholder Advisory Committee Meeting with the Board of Directors

Summary of the meeting on November 26, 2021
Via Zoom

Stakeholder advisory committee members present:

William Boucher
Bernard Brun
Douglas Conick
Martha Durdin
José Gallant
David Gunderson
Diane Kocet
Mark Oakes
Taras Pidzamecky
Luc Racette
Sunny Sodhi

Board members present:

Joanne De Laurentiis – Chair of the Board
Blair Cowper-Smith - Director
Joseph Iannicelli - Director
Stewart Lyons – Director
Lawrence Ritchie - Director
Brent Zorgdrager – Director

Management members present:

Mark White – Chief Executive Officer
Glen Padassery – Executive Vice President, Policy & Chief Consumer Officer
Stephen Power – Executive Vice President, Corporate Services
Jordan Solway – Executive Vice President, Legal and Enforcement
Randy Nanek – Chief Financial Officer
Judy Pfeifer – Chief Public Affairs Officer
Mehrdad Rastan – Head, Relationship & Risk Management – Credit Union & Prudential
Heather Kay – Senior Manager, Strategic Policy
Antoinette Leung – Head of Financial Institutions and Market Conduct
Daniel Padro – Director, Policy – Credit Union Policy
Kirk Quinn – Senior Manager, Market Conduct – Financial Market Conduct

Corporate secretary’s office:

Clint Savary – Assistant Corporate Secretary
Ligia Simoes – Assistant Corporate Secretary
Demola Oloyede – Board Administrator

General comments:

The Chair of the Board called the meeting to order and provided introductory remarks. She thanked the Committee members for taking the time to participate in the discussion with the Board.

Discussion with the board:

  • the Committee expressed general support of the 2022-2023 Proposed Statement of Priorities and Financial Plan.

  • the Committee was appreciative of the work done in rule development and stakeholder engagement.

  • there was a discussion around how the different departments at FSRA work together during the rule making process and how the various teams at FSRA collaborate to provide FSRA’s perspective and position to the Credit Union sector. FSRA management provided a description of the integration approach used for all departments and how working towards having a single point of contact for regulated entities has improved communication with the sector.

  • recruitment and talent management at FSRA were discussed.

  • burden reduction during the supervisory process was discussed. FSRA management explained that it will take time to see the results of ongoing training and consultation efforts. As the business of Credit Unions becomes more complex, FSRA wants to ensure it is protecting all stakeholders and customers.

  • the Committee asked for details of how the Deposit Insurance Reserve Fund (DIRF) adequacy model will be created and whether each member will be individually assessed. A discussion ensued with details of the different approaches being considered by FSRA management.

  • the Committee expressed a desire to be part of the discussions during the development of the risk based supervisory framework.

  • a Committee member noted that there are currently not very many French-speaking staff members at FSRA and no French-speaking Board members. FSRA management informed the Committee that there are a few French-speaking staff in the Credit Union and Prudential department and that FSRA is planning to hire more French-speaking team members.