Financial Sector Specialist, Bank of Canada
Graduate Program in Public Policy, Administration & Law, Master of Public Policy, Administration and Law (MPPAL) 2021

Tell prospective students a bit about the work you do.

I work at the Bank of Canada developing strategic policy for the supervision of retail payment providers. Retail payment providers include a variety of entities that perform electronic payment functions, such as payment processors, digital wallets, currency transfer services, among other services.

Prior to working at the Bank, I was at the Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators (CCIR) Secretariat, which is a national association of provincial insurance regulators. As insurance is regulated provincially and many companies operate nationally, it is judicious for provincial regulators to harmonize regulatory activities so that companies can operate efficiently. The role of the CCIR is thus to ensure harmonization in regulatory oversight and consumer protection in the national insurance space.

My specific role included providing policy leadership through facilitating the development of harmonized policies with respect to insurance company market conduct; promoting innovation by providing an avenue for Fintechs to engage with regulators prior to going to market; and enabling streamlined approaches to consumer protection in insurance practices.

Tell prospective students a bit about how your studies at York helped you to get where you are today.

The MPPAL program satisfactorily complemented my work experience by filling in the knowledge gaps with respect to federal-provincial relations, the role of courts, source of public service authority, equity factors to consider when developing policy, effective management and evaluation of programs, productive leadership strategies and much more. The totality of this experience has enhanced my understanding of the context of my role and increased my confidence to deliver meaningful results. It has also enhanced my expertise in the field, allowing me to provide advisory services to senior and executive leaders.