MEDIA ADVISORY - ACORN National Day of Action! ACORN members Demand Fair Banking and an End to Two Tier Banking!

TORONTO, Nov. 27, 2017 /CNW/ -

Toronto - Thursday, November 30th at 11.15am at Finance Minister Bill Morneau's Office at 430 Parliament St.
Hamilton - Thursday, November 30th at 11.15am at CIBC, 1 King St. West
Mississauga – Thurs., November 30th at 11.15am at MP Peter Fonseca's office, 918 Dundas St. East
Ottawa - Thursday, Nov 30th at 12.15pm at the corner of Montreal Rd and the Vanier Parkway 
Halifax – Thurs., November 30th at 11am at the corner of Barrington St. and Duke St. (by City Hall).
Regina - Thursday, November 30th at 12.15pm noon, petition drive at the BMO at Scarth Street Mall, 1801 Scarth Street (Scarth and 11th Av)
Metro Vancouver – Thurs., November 30th at 11.15am meeting at the Columbia Skytrain entrance

15% of Canadians are underbanked / financial excluded / rely on services from fringe high interest lenders. This means 1/2 million people are being alienated from mainstream Banks, yet the federal government has yet to investigate what type of consumer protections are needed to ensure that all people in Canada have access to fair financial services.  They need to implement consumer protection for the entire industry, both banks and fringe lenders!  If people no longer can access bank loans and services they will turn to high interest fringe lenders.  Household debt is historically high in Canada. Yet, the government  has failed to address predatory lending and the significant risk it poses to consumers.

"Many people are increasingly excluded by their banks due to high NSF fees, no access to low-interest loans and other barriers to accessing basic credit, many Canadians are forced to rely on fringe financial lenders, who charge predatory rates. Increasingly, ACORN members are also experiencing issues with other forms of high-interest lending that fall into regulatory grey areas, such as instalment loans and non-prime mortgages.  We need action NOW," says ACORN leader Donna Borden. 

With the Bank Act currently under review, it's crucial that the government knows that banking needs to be affordable and accessible to low-income consumers. ACORN's Fair Banking campaign targets the Federal Government to legislate the Canadian banking sector, to provide access to fair financial services to low income families, including:

• Access to low-interest credit for emergencies;
• Low-interest overdraft protection;
• Alternatives to predatory lending, such as postal banking and credit union credit products geared toward low and moderate income families;
• No-holds on cheques;
• Lower NSF fees from $45 to $10.
• Create a national anti-predatory lending strategy;
• Amend the Criminal Code to lower the maximum interest from 60% to 30%

ACORN Canada, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, founded in 2004, is a grassroots membership organization for low and moderate income people.  We are one of the country's most effective voices for low and moderate income Canadians. With over 102,000 members in 22 chapters across the country, our central purpose fight for social justice.

SOURCE Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN)

For more and local details contact: Judy Duncan, 416 996 6401 or Claire Gallagher, 647 675 0235