Actors in the legal cannabis industry have filed a class action lawsuit against Canadian banks alleging financial discrimination against them.
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The class action lawsuit was initiated by the law firm of the SGF Group – Advisors and Advisors in Cannabis on behalf of Origami Extraction President Gabriel Bélanger, according to a press release from the law firm.
Behind this lawsuit is entrepreneur Gabriel Bélanger, which includes all those who have been in the legal cannabis industry since October 17, 2018, doing business with these offending banking institutions.
The banks targeted by the class action lawsuit are the Federation des Caisses Desjardins, National Bank, Royal Bank, Bank of Montreal, TD Bank and CIBC, the law firm said.
Mr. Bélanger criticizes these banks for refusing to open bank accounts, closing current bank accounts early and denying access to financial instruments such as mortgage loans and lines of credit to cannabis companies.
“Canadian banks have treated the cannabis industry like pariahs for far too long, as if all of this was still completely illegal,” said Maxime Guérin, SGF Group attorney and cannabis advisor, on Friday.