From -Peter Sommer June 19, 2018
Thornhill, Ontario
peter.sommer206@gmail.com
416-418-6657
To -Ms. Lucie Tedesco - Financial Consumer Agency of Canada lucie.tedesco@fcac-acfc.gc.ca
Ms. Brigitte Goulard - Financial Consumer Agency of Canada brigitte.goulard@fcac-acfc.gc.ca
Do Government Watchdogs protect everyday citizens?
Dear Ms. Tedesco and Ms. Goulard,
“Lucie Tedesco and Richard Bilodeau made it explicitly clear in their FINA testimony that they have no mandate to deal with actual laws as affecting deceptions and active bad faith acts that are imposed on clients. They admitted that the 4500 grievances from staff, who object to being asked by management to unfairly exploit clients, were not used in the March 21 report that FCAC gave to Minister Morneau”- (SIPA Canada). So what was the basis of their decision?
Why do these huge unethical loopholes, lapdog Commissioners, and weak penalties continue? Because federal politicians wrote the rules for themselves, chose the Commissioners, and decided not to have any penalties for violations! The Prime Minister and provincial premiers have the power to give jobs to whomever they want to run government agencies that enforce laws (including the courts), and run government programs. Thousands of people are hand-picked by the PM and premiers in secret, without any review or checks on their power – they even get to choose the people who enforce the laws that require themselves, and their Cabinet ministers, to be honest, ethical, open and waste-preventing!
What type of nonsense and governing is this? How fair, reasonable and just is this? One set of rules for the rich and powerful and one for the regular everyday citizen. Why and how do these people get away with it?
Morneau cleared by ethics commissioner – June 18, 2018
Ethics commissioner investigating Morneau's sponsorship of pension bill
Trudeau says 'sorry' after watchdog finds he broke ethics rules
Morneau sees no conflict with C-27, despite ethics watchdog's concerns
EXCLUSIVE: Morneau using ethics loophole to maintain ownership of shares in family business
Ethics czar clears Morneau over sale of shares
Morneau, Tories swap numbered-company barbs as ethics saga continues[/b]
Not many people have had the “fortunate” opportunity to get sued by a company that they had no contractual relationship with, were never served and then had a default judgment ruled against them which caused numerous bank accounts to be garnisheed 7 years ago which are still garnished to this day. This became the catalyst to 4 more law suits that were filed because of a malicious situation created by a vindictive plaintiff. I would not wish this on my worst enemy but this is exactly what happened to me and is still ongoing. This is not the ideal way to learn about the wrongs of our legal system that no longer works for the average person as stated by our own Chief Justice. This also taught me about our banking system and the role that the government should be playing but they totally abuse this duty. Seeing I lost everything I ever owned because of this, I have had hours upon hours and years upon years to delve into and research the flagrant abuse of power by those who control our legal system, our banking system and our government who are without doubt all in collusion with each other as per the above.
The above case forced me into a banking problem which gave me the opportunity to see the very worst of our banking system as well. The CBC discovered that banks are using unethical sales practices to sell products that customers do not want or need. Even though thousands of customers and employees have come forward agreeing that this is happening, the banks and the government vehemently disagree. Would you expect anything different seeing they are in collusion with each other? The banks don’t give a damn about their customers, they are just a means to a greedy end while making absurd profits at the expense of their customers. The banks will put up one roadblock after another in order to avoid responding to customer’s complaints, hoping that they might die first before they have to deal with the problem.
You need to wonder who controls who, does the government control the banks or do the banks control the government?
It does not take much research to see and understand that it is the banks that control the government. One does not need to look much further then what is currently going on with our Finance Minister, Justin Trudeau’s friends and the many other politicians regarding the offshore banking scandals and others.
One just has to look at how the chair of The House of Commons Finance Committee, who is known to defend the privileged, handled the KPMG – Isle of Man off shore banking affair by doing absolutely nothing, as opposed to his US counterpart who put executives of KPMG in jail and fines were levied to the tune of a half a billion dollars for doing the exact same thing in the US. Why did Canada do nothing? Who were they protecting?
This is the same House of Commons Finance Committee that is currently looking into the CBC’s report on the unethical sales practices of Canadian banks which will once again probably achieve absolutely nothing other than show that the government is going through the motions.
- 22/8/17.We started to hear reports like, “So far, there has been no evidence of systemic misconduct at the major banks”
The Finance Minister is resisting making key changes, claiming that the, “bank watchdog agencies are fine as is.” No, Mr. Finance Minister, they are not close to being “fine as is.” Again we just have to look at the news media everyday to see what this same Finance Minister, has done, is doing and will continue to do unless a completely independent bank watchdog is put in place to stop the banks and the government’s shenanigans. (Nov 23, 2017 - Morneau sides with shareholders, not Canadian Workers in Sears closing).
(CARP)“Effective regulation is required to ensure that banks do not abuse the interests of their customers in the pursuit of profit. Unfortunately, those mandated with protecting the Canadian public have repeatedly failed to do so. Consumer protection in Canada suffers egregious problems that can and must be fixed. When it comes to regulatory power, Canada is a lightweight and processes for dispute resolution are fundamentally flawed.”
This behaviour of the banks, the legal system and the government do not seem to concern most citizens as long as it does not affect them directly. This is because they only get to see part of the big picture on rare occasions. Things are very different when you get exposed to all of this at one time because you get a front row seat to see the corruption that exists and how the general public suffers while senior executives and the “higher ups” get away with “murder.” Listen to what Senator Elizabeth Warren had to say about the wrongs of the US legal and banking systems. Unfortunately this is exactly how it is in Canada as well, if not worse.
Listen to her speech here. https://youtu.be/RyGEZs89wos?t=5
Corporate America places their personal agenda for greed ahead of its customers, all the while presenting a public façade of social, community responsibility and awareness, while the customer is greeted by silence, avoidance, indifference if not open hostility! Banking and dishonesty go hand in hand. Banking culture is likely to fuel bad traits such as greed and dishonesty. Accusations that the world of banking is corrupt are common, but now scientists have actually proven that banking breeds dishonesty.
Read Here: Banking turns people into rotten cheats. https://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2014/nov/20/banking-cheats-bankers-financial-sector-dishonest-behaviour
Shame on you, TD Bank, for your shallowness, your insensitivity, your hypocrisy and most substantially, your greed! As Ed Clark past President and CEO of TD Bank said after he retired, “if you start a business model that says, my clients aren’t my clients, they are really counter-parties that I can make money off of....you shouldn’t be surprised if you end up with a culture that is a greed culture that really doesn’t do the right thing all the time...” To listen to this conversation click here. https://www.americanbanker.com/video/battling-bankings-greed-culture
The solution is relatively simple if those in power really wanted to look after the people first before looking after themselves. It is basic human decency to NOT be abused by persons who are in positions of trust or authority.
A proper complaints process has to be set up and be administered by a completely independent group of people without ties to the government or the banks. Their findings must be enforceable and they must have the power to fine the banks for improper and unjust enrichment, as they have in England through The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Below are 43 of the 72 people I have written to, some more than once, about the above matters. Not one of them has had the common decency or the courtesy to respond. Silence is the norm because those who have something to say about these matters will stay silent for fear of reprisal by their peers. They all know that all of the above including the legal system is badly broken but they also know that there is no benefit, financially or otherwise for them to make these changes. They all seem to be one big happy family. Those left off the list did respond, such as Jody-Wilson-Raybould - Justice Minister and Attorney General of Canada, Thomas Cromwell Retired Supreme Court Justice and a few others.
From the Federal Government
Justin Trudeau – Prime Minister
Beverley McLachlin - Chief Justice
Bill Morneau - Minister of Finance
Jessica Prince - Senior Policy Advisor for Justice Canada.
Canadian Judicial Council (CJC) Ottawa
Ontario Judicial Council (OJC)
From Banking Associations and Watchdogs
Terry Campbell - President Canadian Bankers Association Darren Hannah, Vice-President, Canadian Banking Association Jeremy Rudin - Superintendent of Banking
Lucie Tedesco – Commissioner Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC)
Brigitte Goulard - Deputy Commissioner FCAC
Wayne Easter - Chairman of the House of Commons Finance Committee
Pierre-Luc Dusseault, NDP MP initially proposed hearings into the practices of Canada's big banks Dan Albas - Conservative MP part of bank hearing
The Banking Ombudsman - ADRBO
From TD Bank
Edmund Clark - Past President and CEO TD Bank
Bharat Masrani - CEO TD Bank
Daria Hill - Media Relations, Corporate & Public Affairs TD Bank
Brian Levitt - Chairman of the board TD Bank
Norie Campbell - currently Group Head and Chief General Counsel, TD Bank Group
Colleen Johnston - Group Head Marketing and Corporate & Public Affairs TD Bank Group, retiring 2018 Melissa Tzimas – Manager Customer Experience TD Bank
Tim Hockley - Group Head Canadian Banking TD Bank (now TD Ameritrade)
Ellen Patterson - currently Executive Vice President and General Counsel, TD Bank Group
Michael Rhodes - Executive Vice President, TD Bank Group and Head of Consumer Banking, TD Bank US, Leo Salom - currently Executive Vice President, Wealth Management, TD Bank Group
Alison Ford - Media Relations, Corporate & Public Affairs,
Mohammed Nakhooda - Media Relations, TD Bank Group
Gillian Manning - Head of Investor Relations
Riaz Ahmed - Group Head and Chief Financial Officer, TD Bank Group
Greg Braca - currently President and CEO, TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank,
Mark Chauvin - Group Head and Chief Risk Officer
Ajai Bambawale - will become Group Head and Chief Risk Officer, TD Bank Group, February 1, 2018
Teri Currie - Group Head, Canadian Personal Banking, TD Bank Group
Bob Dorrance - Group Head, Wholesale Banking, TD Bank Group, CEO & President, TD Securities
Paul Douglas - Currently Executive Vice President, Canadian Business Banking,
Frank McKenna - Deputy Chair, TD Bank Group
Legal Department - TD Bank, TD Ombudsman’s Office
Some examples of further abuse by TD Bank and there are thousands more
October 2017, Bal Brach, CBC News reported more cover ups and refusal by TD to do the right thing.
“TD Bank customer frustrated with fraud investigation leaving him owing thousands”
From the Ontario Government
Yasir Naqvi - Attorney General of Ontario
Charles Sousa - Minister of Finance Ontario
From the Legal World
The Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC) – various people
“Three TD Canada Trust bank customers who claim they were the victims of fraudulent credit card and debit card transactions are accusing the bank of denying their claims without a thorough investigation”
“TD Canada Trust offered Mr. X a "one-time goodwill" gesture in the form of $2,569.68 but Mr. X declined, arguing that more than $5,000 went missing from his account. (CBC News)”
“The bank refused an interview with CBC News, but in a statement said "TD's fraud investigations team thoroughly reviews all reported customer fraud claims in a fair, equitable and transparent manner."- Who do they think they are kidding? "They did the minimum criteria that they had to prove to not pay me the claim and then just walked away" Mr. X said. "I think it's a little insulting to get that offer, to be honest."
A second case reported on the same day states, “When CBC News inquired about this case, the customer was contacted by the bank within days and was told she would not be responsible for the charges if she agreed to a settlement which included not discussing her case publicly” – why?
TD did the same to me twice after going to the TD Ombudsman's Office and ADR. I have never yet to this day got a response from TD as to why they made me the 2 insulting offers which in effect was really a bribe. This seems to be standard procedure for TD. What is TD scared off by going public? Is it their reputation or are they more concerned about making less profit? After living through this nightmare with the banks and the problems caused, the following animated video depicts exactly how our banking system works which is condoned by the legal system and government Watch here.
Below are a few comments made by the public about the collusion, conspiracy and secrecy regarding the government and how little it does to protect the public in favour of the banks. Why does this government need so much SECRECY about their investigation into the banks? This should bother everyone.
“The need for such secrecy on the part of our elected government clearly is an indication of something dreadfully wrong and possibly of a criminal nature going on in our Canadian banking system for why else are Canadians being kept in the dark by our elected government in this matter that involves the peace and security of OUR MONIES”.
“Surely such need on the part of this elected government for need of such secrecy on their part, now points to something of a greater wrong and possible criminal nature going on in the Canadian banking system for why else and for what other possible reason could there be for this elected government to keep this matter SECRET from the people of Canada”
"Liberal MP Wayne Easter, chairman of the committee, said it's important that Canadians trust the FCAC to look out for their interests" Kind of hard to trust them when they refuse to do real investigations. Refuse to take action against banks. Refuse to release reports. Refuse to even tell you anything about the complaint you filed. Refuse to name banks found guilty of a "crime". Pretty much the only thing they agree to do is tell us to go away.
The letter referred to above was written to both you Ms. Tedesco and Ms. Goulard on June 1, 2017 almost a year ago. Based on the above and the attached, is it any wonder that people do not have faith in lame watchdogs?
I have also attached in PDF format a letter that was written to Mr. Wayne Easter on May 23, 2017 because it was already a full gone conclusion that both the FCAC and the Finance Committee would find nothing really wrong with the CBC report because they have to protect the banks. The banks say “jump” and the government and their watchdogs say, “how high?”
Sincerely, Peter Sommer