FP Canada Standards Council™: Policies and Procedures

FP Canada Standards Council publishes a variety of documents and reports containing standards, policies and guidelines for the financial planning profession. These documents are a helpful resource for FP Canada certificants, students, educators, the Canadian public and other stakeholders.

Notice: Various changes to the FP Canada Standards Council Disciplinary Rules and Procedures (DRP) and the FP Canada Standards Council Disciplinary Rules and Procedures for Examination Misconduct (DPEM) took effect on September 1, 2020. The changes are part of an ongoing effort by the FP Canada Standards Council to ensure all policies are reflective of current practices and are as detailed as possible, to ensure transparency for the benefit of CFP professionals, QAFP professionals, certification candidates and the Canadian public. See below for details.

 

FP Canada Standards Council Standards of Professional Responsibility

Set and enforced by the FP Canada Standards Council, the Standards of Professional Responsibility define the ethical and professional responsibilities of CFP professionals and QAFP professionals. The Standards of Professional Responsibility include the: Code of Ethics, Rules of Conduct, Fitness Standards and Practice Standards. These standards are maintained by the Standards Panel.

Previous Versions

The current version of the Standards of Professional Responsibility took effect in January 2020. Any complaints alleging misconduct by a current FP Canada certificant prior to January 2020, will be governed by previous versions of the Standards of Professional Responsibility.

 

FP Canada Standards Council Disciplinary Rules and Procedures

Notice: This updated version of the Disciplinary Rules and Procedures (DRP) is effective September 1, 2020. Key changes include:
  • Statements of Allegations (statements setting out the particular misconduct alleged by the Standards Council) will now be publicized on FP Canada’s website within five business days of being filed (see Article 5.1)

  • The hearing formats available have been expanded to include telephone and video conference hearings in addition to in-person or in writing (see Articles 6.1 and 9.4). The preferred format for hearings is in writing (see Article 6.1)

  • For disciplinary proceedings where the Hearing Panel releases a decision after September 1, 2020, the full decision and reasons will be publicized on FP Canada’s website, along with a Summary (see Article 10)
As these are only a few of the changes to the DRP, we encourage you to review the full document.

The DRP guide how FP Canada Standards Council conducts investigations and disciplinary hearings into actions by FP Canada certificants that may represent a breach of the FP Canada Standards Council Standards of Professional Responsibility.

 

FP Canada Standards Council Disciplinary Rules and Procedures for Examination Misconduct

Notice: This updated version of the Disciplinary Rules and Procedures for Examination Misconduct (DPEM) is effective September 1, 2020. Key changes include:
  • The Conduct Review Panel to review investigation reports and determine how each matter should proceed (see Articles 4.5)

  • The hearing formats available have been expanded to include telephone and video conference in addition to in-person or in writing (see Article 5.4). The preferred format for hearings, including appeal hearings, is in writing (see Articles 5.4 and 6.4)

  • For disciplinary decisions released after September 1, 2020, anonymized summaries of decisions will be publicized on FP Canada’s website (see Article 10)
As these are only a few of the changes to the DPEM, we encourage you to review the full document.

The DPEM guides how the Standards Council conducts investigations and hearings relating to misconduct on FP Canada Certification Examinations.