The regions will show their fed up with the closures at Desjardins on Tuesday

While Desjardins announced last week the closure of two service centers and four ATMs in Charlevoix, a citizen association will organize a demonstration on October 8 in Quebec and Lévis to denounce this situation which affects all regions of the province.

Connexion-U organized this action after meetings with municipal elected officials.

“In a press conference at the National Assembly, mayors will make very specific requests to the government,” explains Sylvie Bergeron, CEO of Connexion-U.

She also invites the population to participate in the human chain and the march that will follow (see table).

“Desjardins uses the same modus operandi everywhere,” notes M.^me Bergeron. “Members vote for a merger [des caisses] because of the benefits. Once this is done, members no longer have the right to vote on closures.”

Georges Deschênes, mayor of Saint-Gabriel-de-Rimouski, will be present on October 8. “We had a quiet closure of our service center in June. You now have to travel 60 km round trip to find a center. But for other municipalities that came to us, they now have to travel 90 km. It’s terrible for our elderly people,” he denounces.

Question of fairness

Sylvain Tremblay, mayor of Saint-Siméon, in Charlevoix, was preparing to possibly lose his service center.

“Desjardins tells us that unlike a digital bank, they give funds. But they took away my highest salary [parmi ses citoyens]a service that requires me to drive 30 minutes, property taxes, work for suppliers. I would prefer to keep six jobs in the village [plutôt] than having $50,000 for an ice rink,” insists the elected official.

“Why do people from Saint-Siméon and surrounding areas pay[-ils] the same fees even though they don’t have the same services? The inequity there annoys me, especially when we call ourselves a cooperative. If they want to create an internet bank, they should close all the cash registers. In Lévis, they will use the tower for webmasters. There, we would be fair. Or, that the costs be taken away from us. Especially since Desjardins tells me that it is a question of business model and not financial,” he says.

“Some seniors are afraid to compromise on Accès D, need a local service or meet their advisor. We find these closures deplorable for seniors who are not familiar with computers,” says Michel Beaumont, general director of FADOQ Québec–Chaudière-Appalaches.

Motivated

Pierre Gagnon, the deputy mayor of Bonaventure, in Gaspésie, will travel more than 600 km on Tuesday to be present at the march.

“There has been a reduction in service hours at our center and the loss of an ATM, and complete closures in other municipalities. Citizens ask us questions. We want to be proactive and convince decision-makers,” he said.

The Desjardins communications department indicated that the decision to remove an ATM or close a service center was based on usage and not on costs.