Jane Pearse, Director, Financial Institutions Division Financial Sector Policy Branch Department of Finance Canada L'Esplanade Laurier 15th Floor, East Tower 140 O'Connor Street Ottawa, ON K1A 0G5 code.consult@fin.gc.ca DELIVERED BY E-MAIL February 10, 2014 SUBMISSION TO THE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE RE: Canada's Financial Consumer Protection Framework Dear Ms. Pearse, My name is XXXX and I live in XXXX, Nunavut. I am writing to you as a private citizen regarding your invitation for comments on elements that could strengthen Canada's financial consumer protection framework. I would like to specifically address section 4.1, titled "Addressing the Needs of Seniors and Vulnerable Canadians", by outlining some of the challenges in accessing financial services in remote Northern communities. I give my consent for the Department of Finance Canada to post, summarize, or quote from my submission; however, I would prefer that the Department of Finance to withhold my identity while doing so. For some background information, XXXX. It is a fly-in only community. It operates as the administrative centre of the XXXX. The population is predominantly Inuit. There is one bank branch located in the community, the XXXX, as well as a few automated teller machines. Although I myself am an educated professional that attended university in Ontario, many of the residents in our community have only completed a Grade 10 education. Here are some of the challenges in accessing financial services that I have observed up here in Nunavut. Access to banks/cash There is only one bank branch (XXX) located in XXXX. We are fortunate to have this branch here, as some other communities in Nunavut do not have any banks at all. The XXX is open from 9:30AM to 4PM. This is during business hours, which means that anybody with a day job that requires banking services must take time off of work in order to do it. The XXX has one ATM that is also only open until 4PM. It used to be available for access for longer hours, but unfortunately there has been a problem with young people vandalizing the area where the ATM is, so now the bank locks up the ATM after branch hours. This makes it somewhat difficult for anyone to withdraw cash after 4PM. There are a few private ATMs in town, but there is only one ATM that is available after 7PM until 11PM – assuming it is not out of order. Basically, our ability to withdraw cash is limited, and our ability access other banking services even more restricted. As you know, a lot of banking can be done online. However, in Nunavut, the Internet can be slow and unreliable at times. More importantly, many of the lower-income residents here do not have access to a secure computer in order to do so, nor do they necessarily possess the knowledge of how to set up internet banking. I have also noticed that many residents in town seem to not have bank accounts at all. Instead, when they get paid, they bring their cheques to the Co-op grocery store and get their entire paycheque cashed right there. I am not sure why they prefer to do this, rather than use the bank, but I suspect it may have to do with the limited hours that the bank is available, and perhaps as well, the lower education of some of the residents – they may not realize that banking is an option for them. There may also be other reasons why they are unable to open a bank account. Access to financial advice for mortgage foreclosures A common problem in Nunavut I have seen is the lack of resource support in certain situations, such as in the event of a mortgage foreclosure. A person will receive notice that the bank intends to take their house back, due to the fact that payments are in default. In many instances, the person will have difficulty understanding these notices, or what is happening. Sometimes, when they are served with a Statement of Claim, they do not understand that this is a document relating to court. They are usually in no position to defend themselves in court proceedings, nor draft a Statement of Defence. Unfortunately, legal aid in Nunavut does not cover mortgage foreclosures, as s.45(4) of the Legal Services Act in Nunavut prohibits legal aid lawyers from providing legal services regarding real property transactions. Normally, if a person requests legal assistance for a matter that falls outside of legal aid coverage, they will be referred to a private lawyer. Unfortunately, in the case of a mortgage foreclosure, the person is usually not in a position to pay for a private lawyer. This leaves them in an awkward and very disadvantaged position. Sometimes when a person has a question about their finances, they can ask their bank for basic advice; however, in the event of a mortgage foreclosure, the person cannot ask the XXX what they can do to defend themselves, as the XXX is often the opposing party in such proceedings. The main issue is that people often do not understand what is happening in the event of a mortgage foreclosure. Instead, all they can understand is that their house is being taken away by the "big man". Given that many of the indigenous residents here are survivors of residential school and other influences of colonialism, this only serves to further their sense of helplessness. Access to financial advice on estates and powers of attorney, etc. The Legal Services Act in s.45(4) also prohibits legal aid lawyers from providing legal services on matters respecting the estates of living or deceased persons. This has translated to some people, especially elders, having some difficulty in arranging their affairs with respect to powers of attorney or directing how their assets are to be distributed after they pass away. A lack of access to information about estates or powers of attorney may not seem to be as serious for low-income residents who may not have many assets in the first place. However, despite their low-income status, many people have received or are in the process of receiving a lump sum compensation for their residential school claims. They require assistance in arranging their financial affairs, but sometimes to not know how to get help, as they are unfamiliar with the situation. Conclusion There are some considerable challenges in accessing financial services that exist in remote isolated northern communities such as XXXX. I do not have any suggestions on how the consumer code can address these challenges. I would only suggest that these unique challenges be considered when working on the framework. If you have any questions or require any additional information, please feel free to contact me by email at XXXX. Yours truly, XXXX, XXXX, Nunavut