Montréal, July 8, 2025 – Amendments to the Private Security Act and Administrative relief for the agencies, officially come into force.
AMENDMENTS TO THE PSA AND ITS REGULATION
The Act amending various provisions (SQ 2025, c. 8) was adopted on April 9, 2025 by the National Assembly.
This law introduces two relief measures to the agency’s obligations:
1. End of the obligation to provide and maintain a $10,000 surety bond
- Bonds by pledge of money: The BSP will refund this amount by cheque to concerned agencies, starting July 8.
- Suretyship contract with a surety company: The agency may terminate its commitment to the company concerned, at the time deemed appropriate.
2. Agency's representative
The agency’s representative will no longer be required to engage itself full-time in the activities of the enterprise it represents.
CERTIFICATE OF INSURANCE: SIMPLIFIED MEASURES
Some agencies are subject to exclusions or restrictions on their civil liability insurance policy. This situation leads to additional steps for the agencies concerned and may cause delays in the processing of their agency licence.
In response to this trend, the following measures are being implemented as of today.
1. Insurance for services actually offered
To meet the liability insurance condition, agencies will be required to have coverage that is consistent with the services provided, rather than all activities permitted under their licence class.
In return, and in accordance with the powers vested by the Private Security Act, the BSP will issue the following directive to all licenced agencies:
"The Agency shall not offer private security services that are not covered by its civil liability insurance policy."
This directive, issued for public protection purposes, will be shown:
- on the agency's licence;
- on the Registry of Licence Holders.
This will raise public awareness of the agency’s obligation to be insured for the services it offers.
We remind you that non-compliance with a BSP directive may have an impact on the validity of your agency licences.
2. Modified certificate of insurance form
This form will now have to:
- be signed by the agency's representative, and no longer by an authorized broker or agent of the insurer;
- be accompanied by the certificate of insurance issued by the insurer.
ENHANCEMENT TO THE REGISTER OF LICENCE HOLDERS
The Register of Licence Holders, which is available to the public, contains specific information, including the status of agent and agency licences (valid, expired, etc.). To ensure that the public is accurately informed regarding these statuses, improvements have been made to the Register in recent weeks.
A more accurate reflection of the licence status
Although a renewal application is submitted to the BSP within the prescribed time frames, certain complexities may extend its processing beyond the expiration date of an agent or agency's licence.
To acknowledge this reality and reduce the associated constraints, the licence status will no longer appear as "Expired" in the Register until the BSP has made its decision regarding its renewal.
NEED MORE PRECISIONS?
📧 Email: info@bspquebec.ca
📞 Telephone: 514-748-7480 | Toll free: 1-877-748-7483