Its odd that Cougar claim (p2 below in a brochure that pre-dates there accident) to have 4-axis autopilot already.
IIRC, at the public inquiry after their accident it was said that the system was not certified and TC were waiting on the FAA.
http://www.cougar.ca/media/images/br...cougar-sar.pdf
Perhaps the urgency in Canada in delivering what was claimed to be in place is what is driving this.
Sikorsky seem to be well behind the competition though. The FAA Special Condition for similar capability on the EC225 went out for comment in November 2008!