Confidentiality

OBSI’s approach to confidentiality

At OBSI, our dispute resolution process is confidential. This means that the consumers and firms that use our service have agreed not to disclose the content of discussions or correspondence they receive as part of our dispute resolution process for any purpose, including any subsequent legal proceedings, with some limited exceptions.

We explain below how confidentiality applies to our service and the consumers and firms that participate.

Why is our complaint process confidential?

Confidentiality is an important feature of OBSI’s complaint process because it allows consumers and firms to feel comfortable sharing information with us as we work towards understanding the facts of their case, without fear that it will be used against them later.
The confidentiality of our process also ensures that consumers and firms know they can speak to us and each other about how they prefer to settle their cases, without that information being used against them later. This helps both consumers and firms focus on getting to a fair resolution of their case by working collaboratively, and avoiding unnecessary posturing or hostile communications.
This free exchange of information lets us get a full understanding of what happened and helps us to quickly and efficiently find resolutions that are fair in all the circumstances of the case.

How do we maintain confidentiality in our investigations?

Firms and consumers that use our service have agreed to abide by our Terms of Reference (ToRs), which detail the role of confidentiality in our complaint process. When consumers sign a consent letter to participate in our process, they specifically agree to maintain this confidentiality. Firms agree to confidentiality as part of their OBSI membership agreement.
Our ToRs stipulate that discussions and correspondence between the consumer, the participating firm, and their representatives must not be disclosed, except to a professional advisor (such as a lawyer or accountant) who has also agreed to confidentiality.
Our ToRs also stipulate that consumers and firms cannot present our investigative findings in the courts nor call on the Ombudsman’s office to testify against either party. This means that all information in our case files and that we communicate to consumers and firms during an investigation are protected from disclosure, and includes:
- all information collected from the consumer and the firm for our investigation.
- the findings of our investigations.
- any settlement, recommendation, or outcome that results from the complaint and is communicated directly to the consumer and the firm.
We do not share information that we receive from one party with the other without consent. If any person provides confidential or personal information to us and requests that it not be disclosed to anyone else, we will not disclose the information, except with the consent of the person who provided the information to us or as required by law or by a regulator.
- However, fairness requires that each party understand the information that we are using to reach our conclusions in their case. If consent is not given and the information is prejudicial to either party, we cannot use that information to make a recommendation.
OBSI’s commitment to confidentiality is reinforced through our service standards. Our privacy policy complies with Canada’s privacy laws. We can only collect, use, and disclose client data with the consumers’ consent and only to the extent that it is required for our investigation, unless disclosure is required by law or by a regulator.

What are the exceptions to the confidentiality of OBSI’s process?

Representatives

Consumers can share information with their professional advisors (such as their lawyer or accountant), or with any other representative they would like to help them with their case, as long as the representative has also agreed to the confidentiality of our process by signing our consent letter.

Regulators

Consumers are free to share information with a regulator for regulatory reasons. This includes any discussions and correspondence they have had with us about their complaint. Consumers are also able to participate in the regulator’s complaint process while they are participating in our process.
Participating firms and OBSI must comply with written requests from a regulator for disclosure of information, documents, records, or things. If we have complied with such a request, the participating firm and the consumer may discuss the complaint and the underlying facts with the regulator.

Legal Requirement

Where we are legally required to disclose details of our investigation.

Publication of Refusal

If there is no settlement in a case and a firm has refused to offer the compensation, we think is fair in all the circumstances, or if a firm has failed to comply with its obligations under our ToRs, then our ToRs require that we report it to the appropriate regulators and publish the facts of the case. If we are obligated under our ToRs to publicly name a firm for refusing our recommendation for resolution, the consumer’s name and identifying details will not be released.

How does confidentiality apply to consumers?

Subject to the exceptions above, consumers must keep any documents, letters, or other information they receive from us confidential.
Consumers are not prevented from discussing the underlying facts of their case or telling their story about what happened to them before they came to OBSI, as they wish.

How does confidentiality apply to firms?

Subject to the exceptions above, firms are required to keep any documents, letters or other information they receive from us confidential.
When making a recommendation, we will keep information about the firm’s proprietary systems and security measures confidential.
In the case of a refusal, if we have publicly disclosed details about a case, the firm and consumer may publicly refer to the information that was released to the public by us about the complaint.

Have questions?

If you have questions about confidentiality, feel free to contact us. For information about what to expect from our complaint process, read our What to Expect documents for consumers and firms.