Protest planned ahead of tonight’s public meeting on Scotiabank closure

Whitewater Region wants Scotiabank to reconsider its decision to close the Beachburg branch and it’s amping up the public pressure on the big bank. The township is encouraging everyone to attend a public meeting tonight (Tuesday) at Beachburg Public School, where bank officials are expected to explain their decision to close the branch this coming June. That meeting will follow a protest scheduled for 4:30 outside the bank in Beachburg. In a release, the township cits its concerns over the closure including how having a bank is critical to economic development. Meanwhile, local MP Cheryl Gallant has weighed in on the matter, accusing the federal government of making it easier for the big five banks to close rural branches with recent changes to the Banking Act. She’s calling for the feds to improve competition to Big Banks. Gallant says “Rural Canadians, seniors and the vulnerable are being forced to live in banking deserts, and Parliament needs to act.”