Business

Routine bank visit devolved into ‘dehumanization,’ says Black customer

Published

12 months ago

September 25, 2023

Royal Bank of Canada says it regrets customer had ‘a stressful experience’

A group of people pose for a photo outside a bank branch in early autumn. — Barratou Barry, centre, stands with family and members of the anti-racism group Red Coalition outside the branch Sunday. She says she was discriminated against because she is Black. (Guy Quenneville/CBC)

A typically breezy, routine trip to an Ottawa bank last month devolved into a drawn-out and dehumanizing incident of racial discrimination, one of the bank’s longtime Black customers says.

On Aug. 18, Barratou Barry went to the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) branch on Bank Street south of the Greenboro park-and-ride to deposit some money and pick up a new credit card.

It was something she’d done there many times before, she said.

With her family at her side, Barry recounted what happened next at a press conference held Sunday morning in the branch’s parking lot.

When asked for identification, Barry, a 15-year RBC customer, explained she didn’t yet have her driver’s licence and instead provided her health card and new passport.

The bank clerk left the desk to do some verifications, Barry said, and told her 15 minutes later “the system [was] not working” and that a manager would need to step in.

Another 40 minutes passed, and then a shocked and disbelieving Barry saw bank staff speaking to police officers outside.

“I just knew those police officers were there for me, you know? And then I started filming,” she said.

It started as a routine bank visit, but she says she was discriminated against

Barratou Barry says a bank clerk at her Royal Bank of Canada branch called the police on her. At issue were her documents, which had her name spelled two different ways. She filmed her interaction with police and bank staff.

‘Not going to let this pass’

One of the videos she shot, which she shared with CBC News, captured her reacting in the moment to the sight of officers.

“I’ve been dealing with this company for 15 years,” an audibly upset Barry says later in the video, as some officers speak to bank staff while others take her aside. “I have a business account with them. And then they call the police on me.”

“I’m not going to let this pass,” she later adds in French.

Barry said police told her they’d been called because the bank suspected the passport was forged and were concerned over the fact her documents spelled her name two different ways.

She said she ended up getting her credit card from the bank.

The back and side of two police officers outside a bank. — Barry filmed the Aug. 18 incident, capturing her shock at seeing police called to the bank. (Barratou Barry)

Awaiting an apology

Barry said Sunday she wanted to prevent other people from having the same experience of feeling unfairly “detained.”

“Everyone was passing by, looking at me, giving me that guilty look,” she said. “The dehumanization … that I have been through, me and my family — no one should be put into that position.”

Calling the police over doubts about a Black customer “shouldn’t be [the bank’s] first response,” Barry added.

“Ask me simple questions to clarify. Why call the police? The only reason I see is because I was Black.”

Barry said she remains a customer of the bank — in part because it takes time to transfer accounts, but also because she wants to see what RBC does next.

She said Sunday that RBC had yet to apologize for how she was treated and that she wants “them to have more policies and more rules” to prevent discrimination.

Someone's hands holding a facial tissue. — ‘You never think it’s gonna happen to you. Never in my life. Nobody called the police on me before,’ Barry says. (Guy Quenneville/CBC)

Regret for her ‘stressful experience’

In a statement, RBC didn’t speak to the specifics of the situation for privacy reasons but said they “regret that our client had a stressful experience.”

The incident is still being reviewed, the company said, adding they would “continue to reach out directly to our client.”

Barry said the bank did attempt to speak to her both right after the incident and later on the phone, but she was too rattled to talk.

RBC also said it gives employees training to deepen their awareness of “diversity, bias and anti-racism.”

“Diversity and inclusion guide our actions and behaviours to ensure we develop a relationship with clients based on trust and, most importantly, mutual respect,” the statement said.

The company carries out “thorough due diligence” when verifying identification, it added.

Not the first such incident

What happened to Barry is “not a unique incident,” said Alain Babineau, a spokesperson with Montreal-based anti-racism group Red Coalition, which joined Barry at Sunday’s news conference.

The coalition said they plan to file a complaint against RBC on Barry’s behalf with the Canadian Human Rights Commission.

They’d previously done so for Babineau, a retired RCMP officer who claimed discrimination at the hands of CIBC when he was refused a debit card in 2019.

Police acted sensitively toward Barry, coalition members added.

In 2021, another Black Ottawan said he had repeatedly experienced racism at a TD Canada Trust branch in Orléans. The company issued what it called “an unreserved public apology.”

Barry said those sorts of prior incidents make what she went through even more distressing.

“It’s even worse,” she said, “because we know the problem is there.”

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Business

Roots sees room for expansion in activewear, reports $5.2M Q2 loss and sales drop

Published

2 days ago

September 13, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Roots Corp. may have built its brand on all things comfy and cosy, but its CEO says activewear is now “really becoming a core part” of the brand.

The category, which at Roots spans leggings, tracksuits, sports bras and bike shorts, has seen such sustained double-digit growth that Meghan Roach plans to make it a key part of the business’ future.

“It’s an area … you will see us continue to expand upon,” she told analysts on a Friday call.

The Toronto-based retailer’s push into activewear has taken shape over many years and included several turns as the official designer and supplier of Team Canada’s Olympic uniform.

But consumers have had plenty of choice when it comes to workout gear and other apparel suited to their sporting needs. On top of the slew of athletic brands like Nike and Adidas, shoppers have also gravitated toward Lululemon Athletica Inc., Alo and Vuori, ramping up competition in the activewear category.

Roach feels Roots’ toehold in the category stems from the fit, feel and following its merchandise has cultivated.

“Our product really resonates with (shoppers) because you can wear it through multiple different use cases and occasions,” she said.

“We’ve been seeing customers come back again and again for some of these core products in our activewear collection.”

Her remarks came the same day as Roots revealed it lost $5.2 million in its latest quarter compared with a loss of $5.3 million in the same quarter last year.

The company said the second-quarter loss amounted to 13 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Aug. 3, the same as a year earlier.

In presenting the results, Roach reminded analysts that the first half of the year is usually “seasonally small,” representing just 30 per cent of the company’s annual sales.

Sales for the second quarter totalled $47.7 million, down from $49.4 million in the same quarter last year.

The move lower came as direct-to-consumer sales amounted to $36.4 million, down from $37.1 million a year earlier, as comparable sales edged down 0.2 per cent.

The numbers reflect the fact that Roots continued to grapple with inventory challenges in the company’s Cooper fleece line that first cropped up in its previous quarter.

Roots recently began to use artificial intelligence to assist with daily inventory replenishments and said more tools helping with allocation will go live in the next quarter.

Beyond that time period, the company intends to keep exploring AI and renovate more of its stores.

It will also re-evaluate its design ranks.

Roots announced Friday that chief product officer Karuna Scheinfeld has stepped down.

Rather than fill the role, the company plans to hire senior level design talent with international experience in the outdoor and activewear sectors who will take on tasks previously done by the chief product officer.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:ROOT)

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Business

Talks on today over HandyDART strike affecting vulnerable people in Metro Vancouver

Published

3 days ago

September 12, 2024

Anne Joseph

VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, are set to resume today as a strike that has stopped most services drags into a second week.

No timeline has been set for the length of the negotiations, but Joe McCann, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they are willing to stay there as long as it takes, even if talks drag on all night.

About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people unable to navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last Tuesday, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.

Hundreds of drivers rallied outside TransLink’s head office earlier this week, calling for the transportation provider to intervene in the dispute with Transdev, which was contracted to oversee HandyDART service.

Transdev said earlier this week that it will provide a reply to the union’s latest proposal on Thursday.

A statement from the company said it “strongly believes” that their employees deserve fair wages, and that a fair contract “must balance the needs of their employees, clients and taxpayers.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.

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Business

Transat AT reports $39.9M Q3 loss compared with $57.3M profit a year earlier

Published

3 days ago

September 12, 2024

Anne Joseph

MONTREAL – Travel company Transat AT Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter compared with a profit a year earlier as its revenue edged lower.

The parent company of Air Transat says it lost $39.9 million or $1.03 per diluted share in its quarter ended July 31.

The result compared with a profit of $57.3 million or $1.49 per diluted share a year earlier.

Revenue in what was the company’s third quarter totalled $736.2 million, down from $746.3 million in the same quarter last year.

On an adjusted basis, Transat says it lost $1.10 per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of $1.10 per share a year earlier.

Transat chief executive Annick Guérard says demand for leisure travel remains healthy, as evidenced by higher traffic, but consumers are increasingly price conscious given the current economic uncertainty.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:TRZ)

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