How Un-Canadian: Canada’s Big Banks Are Ruining the Country’s Economy

Last year, reporters across the country salivated over the story about Canada’s largest bank, The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), firing long-term salaried Canadians and replacing them with imported, foreign workers.

For the next couple of months, RBC’s public relations team fought back, claiming they didn’t know their policies were affecting Canadians, and that they would take steps to ensure it never happened again.

However, as a former consultant with many of the large financial institutions, I can tell you the practice of importing cheaper foreign workers had been going on for several years, and just like trying to quit smoking, it’s a tough habit to quit.

When I worked in the banking sector for some of the largest banks in the country, it wasn’t all that uncommon to see entire departments – hundreds of people – from outside of Canada, working here on temporary employment contracts.

When I worked for American Express’ technical division, American Express Technologies (AET) in Markham, Ontario, Canada, out of a department of almost 300 people, you could count on one hand the people that weren’t imported from India or China.

A similar situation reared it’s ugly head at BMO Bank of Montreal. When my team was re-located temporarily to the First Canadian Place BMO Tower, we had an amazingly beautiful view from our 52^nd floor window over Toronto’s downtown. And right across from my team, sat about 100 people from the trading help desk – all of them Chinese – except three other people on that team.

I mentioned to my colleagues numerous times that the hiring practices of that team didn’t appear to fit with the written policies and procedures of BMO Bank of Montreal to be a reflection of the Canadian population, and not discriminate based on race.

As with many things at big corporations, I was told not to worry about it, it wasn’t our team, so it’s not our responsibility.

However, when Canadians are put out of work because of unspoken hiring practices, isn’t it everyone in this country’s responsibility to speak up?

According to the Canadian Banker’s Association, over a quarter of a million Canadians work for Canada’s top five banks. The association also claims that 108, 740 people are employed by these banks in other countries. That’s 40 percent of the Canadian banking population NOT being Canadian.

By farming out jobs that Canadians can do to other nations, Canada’s banks are harming the Canadian economy.

Displaced Canadian workers are stuck looking for work, often being forced into short-term employment contracts with no job security, no benefits, and little chance of ever seeing a pay increase.

In fact, when you work on a contract for our Canadian el-cheapo banks, you’re lucky if you keep earning the same amount from contract to contract.

Every time my contract at BMO Bank of Montreal came up for renewal, I’d ask if I could get an increase. Obviously, they liked having me around because they were offering me another term. 

Most of the time I was told no.

Twice my pay actually went DOWN – they told me they didn’t have the budget to keep me at my present wages, so if I wanted to have the privilege of working for them, I’d take the pay cut.

Well, okay, they didn’t quite put it that way – but I did have the choice of two evils – take the pay cut or be unemployed.

What other company in the world rewards it’s team members for a job well done, by telling them they can keep their petty jobs, if they are willing to take a reduction in earnings?

Canada’s big banks are killing our Canadian economy by forcing more people into short-term contracts, creating an unstable society, where only a handful of people can afford to have a life.

The rest can be homeless and on the streets for all the big Canadian banks care.

Just so long as you pay your mortgage, and those crazy service fees to take your own money out of the bank, they don’t give a rat’s ass.

Maybe if we all started keeping our money in our sock drawer, instead of with the evil banks, then they’d wake up?