Last week the Government of Canada ("GC") made two
major announcements. The first was the Speech from the Throne (the
"Speech") which took place on October 16, 2013. The
Speech, which outlined the GC legislative plan for the new session
of parliament, contained actions that the GC will take to protect
Canadian consumers. Two of the actions announced by the GC will
likely have an impact on the financial services industry. These
include: (i) the expansion of no-cost basic banking services; and
(ii) the crack down on predatory payday lenders. The GC did not
provide any specific details on how these proposals would be
implemented. A full copy of the Speech can be found at this link.
Second, the GC announced on October 18, 2013 that Canada and the
European Union (the "EU") have reached an agreement in
principal called the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement
("CETA"). CETA is a comprehensive trade agreement that,
upon ratification in approximately two years time,
