With Grand Manan's only bank set to close, residents of the N.B. island are fighting to keep it open
Residents on the New Brunswick island of Grand Manan are rallying to keep their village’s only bank open.
The Bank of Nova Scotia, or Scotiabank, notified customers of its plans to leave Grand Manan in January. The closure of the bank branch, along with its automated banking machine, is scheduled for Aug. 24.
Residents say they have many questions about why the bank is leaving Grand Manan after operating on the island for well over a century.
Scotiabank held a virtual meeting with island customers earlier this year.
“It was really a time to encourage all of us to go electronic banking,” says resident Gregg Russell.
Several residents felt their specific questions and concerns weren’t answered at the meeting.
“It almost seemed scripted,” says resident Selena Leonard. “He just kept repeating the same answer every time a question was asked.”
Scotiabank wouldn’t agree to an interview request from CTV News.
In a written statement, Scotiabank says, “We did not make this decision lightly and we understand that this will have an impact on the people and community of Grand Manan.”
Scotiabank’s written statement also says it regularly reviews customer numbers in market areas along with the ways customers are doing banking. Scotiabank wouldn’t share those specific details for Grand Manan.
CONCERNS FROM CONVENIENCE TO PUBLIC SAFETY
Scotiabank says customer accounts from the Grand Manan branch will be transferred to its branch in St. George, N.B.
Grand Manan’s only regular connection to the mainland is a one-and-a-half hour ferry trip each way. The St. George branch is about 20 kilometres from the ferry’s landing in Blacks Harbour, N.B.
Island resident Charlotte Frost says if she took the island’s first morning ferry to do banking on the mainland, the earliest she’d be able to return to Grand Manan is late that afternoon.
“It’s not as simple as they make it out to be,” she says.
Other residents say the cost of leaving the island to do banking, including the ferry fee and rising gas prices, will cause hardship.
“It’s going to cost me 60 dollars to get 40 in cash from the bank,” says Russell. “It doesn’t make a lot of sense.”
Another worry is the potential for island residents and businesses to have large quantities of cash on hand.
“You won’t be travelling two or three days a week to go to the mainland to do your banking,” says Leonard, who also owns two eateries on the island. “I’m fearful too of more temptations for break-ins because people are going to know that you can’t take it to the bank. So you’re going to have to keep it somewhere.”
HOPES FOR A DECISION REVERSAL
In its written statement, Scotiabank says it’s focused on helping customers make the transition to online and telephone banking.
Scotiabank wouldn’t share how many employees are affected by the branch’s closure in Grand Manan, nor what their future with the company would be.
Grand Manan residents are still holding out hope for Scotiabank to change its mind.
On a recent trip to Toronto, Russell held a one-man protest outside Scotiabank’s corporate offices.
“I spent two hours talking to many, many people who could not believe what was happening,” says Russell, who tried unsuccessfully to schedule a meeting with corporate officials.
“I said, it’s funny, when you want my money everyone will talk to me. When I have a complaint, nobody will talk to me.”
A protest at Scotiabank’s Grand Manan branch is scheduled for Friday. Russell says more protests are being organized both on and off the island.
BANK BRANCH CLOSURES A GROWING TREND
Grand Manan’s bank closure may present unique challenges, but it’s also part of a growing trend.
According to the Canadian Bankers Association, the number of bank branches across the Maritime region has been gone down in recent years. Between 2016 and 2020, New Brunswick lost 10 bank branches (from 152 to 142). Nova Scotia recorded a decline of seven bank branches (from 192 to 185), while Prince Edward Island lost two (from 27 to 25).
The only banks in Chipman, N.B., and Hartland, N.B., left those communities in that time.
In all, a total of 407 bank branches have disappeared across Canada between 2016 and 2020 -- from 6,190 bank branches down to 5,783, according to the Canadian Bankers Association.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
Residents of northern Alberta First Nation told to shelter in place
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
LIVE SOON Honda expected to announce Ontario EV battery plant, part of a $15B investment
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Honda executives are expected to announce today that the Japanese automaker is building an electric vehicle battery plant in Alliston, Ont., part of a $15-billion investment.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Metro Vancouver mayors call for serial killer Robert Pickton to be denied parole
A dozen mayors from around Metro Vancouver say federal Attorney General and Justice Minister Arif Virani should deny parole for notorious B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton, and reassess the parole and sentencing system for 'prolific offenders and mass murderers.'