SCHREIBER – The only bank branch in town ceasing operations will be hard on a lot of people in Schreiber and area, Raymond Gionet said Wednesday as he and dozens of others protested at the local BMO branch.
The Schreiber resident said he’s active in volunteer groups and president of a classic car club as well, and those groups do banking at BMO.
Once the branch closes in July, he said, they’ll have to travel to Thunder Bay and back – 400 kilometres round trip – to deposit cash proceeds from events into a BMO account.
“The seniors that don’t use computers, they are really terrified about what’s happening because of the fact that they don’t know how to use computers and they come to the bank for the personal service,” he added.
“So it’s going to be really hard on them, people having to travel to Thunder Bay. It’s crazy.”
Small-town branch closings are happening across the country and “every community is going to be suffering what Schreiber is going through right now,” he said.
“So the government has to step in and stop banks from leaving communities.”
BMO, traditionally known as the Bank of Montreal, confirmed last month that it plans to close its Schreiber branch on July 25.
Schreiber Mayor Kevin Mullins spoke to the protesters Tuesday morning and told Newswatch he understands their dismay.
“Obviously, nobody wants to see the Bank of Montreal closed in Schreiber,” he said.
“The demographics of the town is 34 per cent elderly … and a lot of the elderly don’t do online banking and don’t do telephone banking.
“And so that would mean somebody or themselves would have to drive to Thunder Bay for the closest branch.”
The town office makes deposits at the local BMO, he said – “so we’d have to, if we stick with the Bank of Montreal, probably once every two weeks or once a week drive up to Thunder Bay and do a deposit.
“It’s just a huge inconvenience and rural Ontario, the small towns in Ontario are getting hit hard with things closing and whatnot and big companies downsizing. It’s the little towns are taking the brunt of it.”