Royal Bank of Canada says it regrets customer had ‘a stressful experience’
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.
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.
‘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.
TORONTO – Canada Goose Holdings Inc. says it has signed a deal that will result in the creation of its first eyewear collection.
The deal announced on Thursday by the Toronto-based luxury apparel company comes in the form of an exclusive, long-term global licensing agreement with Marchon Eyewear Inc.
The terms and value of the agreement were not disclosed, but Marchon produces eyewear for brands including Lacoste, Nike, Calvin Klein, Ferragamo, Longchamp and Zeiss.
Marchon plans to roll out both sunglasses and optical wear under the Canada Goose name next spring, starting in North America.
Canada Goose says the eyewear will be sold through optical retailers, department stores, Canada Goose shops and its website.
Canada Goose CEO Dani Reiss told The Canadian Press in August that he envisioned his company eventually expanding into eyewear and luggage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Almost seven years since news broke of an alleged conspiracy to fix the price of packaged bread across Canada, the saga isn’t over: the Competition Bureau continues to investigate the companies that may have been involved, and two class-action lawsuits continue to work their way through the courts.
Here’s a timeline of key events in the bread price-fixing case.
Oct. 31, 2017: The Competition Bureau says it’s investigating allegations of bread price-fixing and that it was granted search warrants in the case. Several grocers confirm they are co-operating in the probe.
Dec. 19, 2017: Loblaw and George Weston say they participated in an “industry-wide price-fixing arrangement” to raise the price of packaged bread. The companies say they have been co-operating in the Competition Bureau’s investigation since March 2015, when they self-reported to the bureau upon discovering anti-competitive behaviour, and are receiving immunity from prosecution. They announce they are offering $25 gift cards to customers amid the ongoing investigation into alleged bread price-fixing.
Jan. 31, 2018: In court documents, the Competition Bureau says at least $1.50 was added to the price of a loaf of bread between about 2001 and 2016.
Dec. 20, 2019: A class-action lawsuit in a Quebec court against multiple grocers and food companies is certified against a number of companies allegedly involved in bread price-fixing, including Loblaw, George Weston, Metro, Sobeys, Walmart Canada, Canada Bread and Giant Tiger (which have all denied involvement, except for Loblaw and George Weston, which later settled with the plaintiffs).
Dec. 31, 2021: A class-action lawsuit in an Ontario court covering all Canadian residents except those in Quebec who bought packaged bread from a company named in the suit is certified against roughly the same group of companies.
June 21, 2023: Bakery giant Canada Bread Co. is fined $50 million after pleading guilty to four counts of price-fixing under the Competition Act as part of the Competition Bureau’s ongoing investigation.
Oct. 25 2023: Canada Bread files a statement of defence in the Ontario class action denying participating in the alleged conspiracy and saying any anti-competitive behaviour it participated in was at the direction and to the benefit of its then-majority owner Maple Leaf Foods, which is not a defendant in the case (neither is its current owner Grupo Bimbo). Maple Leaf calls Canada Bread’s accusations “baseless.”
Dec. 20, 2023: Metro files new documents in the Ontario class action accusing Loblaw and its parent company George Weston of conspiring to implicate it in the alleged scheme, denying involvement. Sobeys has made a similar claim. The two companies deny the allegations.
July 25, 2024: Loblaw and George Weston say they agreed to pay a combined $500 million to settle both the Ontario and Quebec class-action lawsuits. Loblaw’s share of the settlement includes a $96-million credit for the gift cards it gave out years earlier.
Sept. 12, 2024: Canada Bread files new documents in Ontario court as part of the class action, claiming Maple Leaf used it as a “shield” to avoid liability in the alleged scheme. Maple Leaf was a majority shareholder of Canada Bread until 2014, and the company claims it’s liable for any price-fixing activity. Maple Leaf refutes the claims.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:L, TSX:MFI, TSX:MRU, TSX:EMP.A, TSX:WN)
TORONTO – TD Bank Group, which is mired in a money laundering scandal in the U.S., says chief executive Bharat Masrani will retire next year.
Masrani, who will retire officially on April 10, 2025, says the bank’s, “anti-money laundering challenges,” took place on his watch and he takes full responsibility.
The bank named Raymond Chun, TD’s group head, Canadian personal banking, as his successor.
As part of a transition plan, Chun will become chief operating officer on Nov. 1 before taking over the top job when Masrani steps down at the bank’s annual meeting next year.
TD also announced that Riaz Ahmed, group head, wholesale banking and president and CEO of TD Securities, will retire at the end of January 2025.
TD has taken billions in charges related to ongoing U.S. investigations into the failure of its anti-money laundering program.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
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