TORONTO - The anger Canadians feel over ATM bank fees is palpable and growing, NDP Leader Jack Layton said Sunday, and announced a national campaign to mobilize consumers in a fight against the country's big banks.
The New Democrats will begin by drumming up support at riding associations across the country, running a campaign on their website, and will then propose changes to the Bank Act so customers are no longer "nickel and dimed" when withdrawing their money from automated teller machines.
"We're launching a campaign from coast to coast to coast. . . to encourage people to support our effort to stop these bank fees from being charged when they want to take their own money out of their own bank account," Layton told a meeting of the Ontario NDP.
"We'll bring forward amendments to make it illegal for our federally chartered banks to charge people to take their own money out. We just think that's wrong."
Customers often aren't charged when withdrawing money from one of their bank's ATMs but incur a convenience fee when they make a transaction at another bank's machine.
The NDP estimates ATM fees ding Canadians for $420 million a year, which Layton said is a lot for consumers but not for the banks, which made $19 billion in profits last year.
He isn't happy with the Harper government's action thus far and comments from Finance Minister Jim Flaherty suggesting the fees are being reviewed.
"Mr. Flaherty says he raised the matter with the banks (but) he didn't do anything about it," Layton said.
Canadians have spoken out about their frustrations with bank fees since he addressed the issue last week, Layton said, and he wants to act on that anger. He said British banks did away with the charges six years ago under pressure from consumers and Canadians can fight for the same result.
"Canadians are rising up rapidly, clearly we've touched some kind of a nerve here," Layton said.
"People are tired of being stung by these fees, they feel they don't really have any choice and they can remember that years ago these sorts of fees weren't there. You used to be able to get access to your own money from your own bank account without having to pay for the privilege."
The banks have said installing and maintaining ATM networks costs millions of dollars and consumers should pay for the convenience when they withdraw money from a bank that isn't their own.
Caroline Hubberstey of the Canadian Banker's Association wouldn't say whether banks are worried about a consumer backlash but insisted that ATM fees are fair.
"The system we have in Canada is low-cost, fair, and transparent for consumers," she said. "If there's a cost to providing (a service), it has to be recouped somewhere else and that's usually in higher fees and higher costs for other services."
Hubberstey also said it's wrong to compare the price of using an ATM in Canada to those found in other countries because banks have complex fee structures; some banking services are cheaper in Canada and some are more expensive.
And she said most Canadians are savvy consumers and know that it costs extra to use another bank's ATM.
"They know the price . . .they're making choices as consumers."
