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All in the family bank account Group says corruption, nepotism rampant at local Caisse pop branches by MARC O. RAINVILLE
The long-awaited letter arrived the following week. In it, Pierre Parker, the new manager, recognized the work Dion had done for over a quarter of a century. Sure enough, Dion was also put under arrest, only to have the charges dropped. Now a municipal councillor in the village of La Présentation, southeast of Montreal, Dion has joined of a group called le Regroupement des victimes des Caisses populaires Inc. (RVCP), which aims to promote a return of Desjardins to more "humane values." Dion's story pales in comparison to those of other RVCP members. RVCP claims that assets and real estate seized by local Desjardins cooperatives are often resold under market value to friends and family members of local volunteer administrators of the Caisse branches. According to Jean-Yves Desrosiers, an economist with the Ministère de l'éducation and a founding member of RVCP, "So far we have received close to 600 dossiers of families who have been ruined by the co-ops." RVCP is also circulating a province-wide petition demanding a public inquiry and an overhaul of all local volunteer administrations. Each branch of the Caisse has a volunteer administrative board; anyone who banks at the Caisse has a right to be elected to the board. Meanwhile, Desjardins is currently trying to gain international legitimacy--and its status as a community reinvestment cooperative may hang in the balance. Its president, Claude Béland, stated this weekend on Radio-Canada that "these principles will have to be adapted to the reality of the established banking institutions without betraying them." According to André Chapleau, a spokesperson for Desjardins, there are 1,300 branches run by 18,000 volunteer board members--only 500 of whom are notaries or lawyers. Says Chapleau, "[This campaign] is exaggerated and unacceptable. Nothing has been proven. It reflects only a thirst for vengeance from people who are unable to accept the judicial process." He says the supervision of the Inspecteur général des institutions financières is the best protection that can be offered to the public. Nevertheless, RVCP's Desrosiers doesn't mince his words. "Béland has put the lid on a boiler that is full of shit fumes," he told the Mirror. For him, one of the reasons for the mess lies in la Loi des Caisses. "It is not really a law and it is full of holes. The banking law makes sure the operations of each branch is standardized, but this is not the case with co-ops." |
When Serge Dion, manager of the Caisse populaire Desjardins in St-Charles-sur-Richelieu, resigned for health reasons early in 1991, he sought a reference letter from his old employer--a banking institution that has always advertised itself as humane and responsive. But when the letter hadn't arrived after 22 months, Dion decided to add some zest to his request. He walked into his former workplace carrying a suitcase and handed it over to an ex-colleague. It contained his dismantled hunting rifle. He then invited everybody present to listen to him or leave if they felt uncomfortable, and reiterated his request for a letter. Dion says he never had any intention of using the gun; he simply wanted to make sure people understood the extent of his frustration.