OSFI at a Glance
About OSFI
OSFI is an office of the Government of Canada created by virtue of s. 4 of the OSFI Act, presided over by the Minister of Finance. However, OSFI is not a legal entity separate from the Government of Canada.
OSFI is led by a Governor in Council (GIC) Appointee for a seven-year term. The current Superintendent is Peter Routledge.
OSFI is listed in Schedule I.1 of the Financial Administration Act (FAA) and as such governed by the same financial and accountability principles as other government departments. However, OSFI is also designated in schedule V of the FAA or a “separate agency” as it pertains to human resources management including classification standards and authority to enter into collective agreements/bargaining.
OSFI has approximately 1,300 employees and a budget of approximately $322M. OSFI has offices in Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal.
Unlike the vast majority of other branches of the government more than 99% of our expenses are cost-recovered, primarily through assessments of federally regulated financial institutions and private pension plans. These expenses have no impact on the Government of Canada’s fiscal position and do not rely on parliamentary appropriations. More importantly, the fees we charge regulated financial institutions are very modest, accounting for about 0.1% of their revenues or 0.3% of their pre-tax earnings.
Some important differences about how we operate compared to other Government of Canada Departments:
| OSFI | Most Government of Canada Departments | |
|---|---|---|
| Created by statute | OSFI Act | Specific acts establishing each Department |
| Status | “office of the GOC” or a division of the Federal public service | Department |
| Staff | Public servants | Public servants |
| Governance | Minister presides over OSFI Deputy head - Superintendent |
Minister presides over department Deputy head - Deputy Minister |
| Direction by the Minister | Superintendent has full discretion to exercise his statutory powers (except taking control) | Minister implements policy and general direction of the department |
| Financing with public funds | Assessment fees and appropriations | Appropriations |
| Management of personnel | Superintendent is the employer | TBS is the employer |
| Enter into collective bargaining and classification of positions | Superintendent with the approval of the GIC | TBS |
What we do
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Superintendent and Finance Minister powers
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Partners and counterparts
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