Ostiguy & Gendron becomes Covalen.

Complaints Handling Policy

Purpose of the Policy

A Complaints Handling and Dispute Resolution Policy aims to establish a fair and accessible procedure for dealing with complaints received. This Policy explains our complaints handling process.

Complaints officer

Monique Gagnon is responsible for applying this Policy and ensuring that complaints received by our firm are handled by it. She is a respondent to the Autorité des marchés financiers (the AMF) and is responsible for training our staff. She is also responsible for transmitting to staff all information required for compliance with this Policy.

The person in charge is also responsible for :

  • sending an acknowledgement of receipt and a notice to the complainant;
  • forwarding the file to the Autorité at the complainant's request;
  • sending a report twice a year to the Autorité via the Complaint Reporting System (CRS).

For this Policy, a complaint must contain at least one of the following three elements :

  1. a reproach against us
  2. the identification of a prejudice suffered or that could be suffered by the complainant;
  3. a request for corrective action. Dissatisfaction or concern.

An informal approach to correcting a particular problem or obtaining information, insofar as the issue is dealt with as part of our firm's regular activities, does not constitute a complaint.

In the first instance, the complainant is encouraged to contact his or her representative or Customer Service by telephone at 450 662-2210 or by e-mail at assurance@covalen.ca.

How to file a complaint

Complainants who are unsatisfied with the answers or information obtained in the previous step and wish to file a complaint should do so in writing to the following address.

Covalen Inc.

101-2905, Louis-R.-Renaud Place, Laval (QC) H7V 0A3

T. 450-662-2210     F. 450-662-1123

assurance@covalen.ca

The subject line is : « Complaint - to be given to the person in charge of complaints. » 

Receipt of complaint

Any employee receiving a complaint must forward it to the complaints officer as soon as it is received.

The person in charge of complaints must acknowledge receipt of the complaint within a reasonable timeframe, i.e. within seven (7) working days of receipt.

Processing a complaint

Upon receipt of a complaint, Covalen Inc. shall initiate its complaint-handling process. The processing of the complaint, i.e., the analysis of the complaint and relevant documents, must be completed within a reasonable period, i.e., within 30 days of receipt of all the information required for its study.

Once the complaint has been examined, the person in charge must send the complainant a final written response with reasons.

Complaint file

A separate file must be kept for each complaint. This file must include the following elements :

  • The complainant's written complaint, including the elements of the complaint (the reproach against the firm or independent representative;
  • the actual or potential prejudice; the corrective action requested);
  • the outcome of the complaint handling process (analysis and supporting documents);

The final response to the complainant is in writing and with reasons.

Forwarding the file to the Autorité

If the complainant is not satisfied with the final position obtained or the handling of his/her complaint, he/she may ask us to transfer his/her file to the Autorité at any time.

The transferred file consists of all the information relating to the complaint.

Compliance with the rules governing the protection of personal information in our possession remains our responsibility.

Effective date : This Policy came into effect on June 1, 2010.

Last revision: August 21, 2024.