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The headquarters of CIBC in downtown Toronto, with a TD Canada Trust tower and the RBC complex on the right.
Canada’s major banks are making bigger profits today than they were before the COVID-19 pandemic, and some consumer advocates say they should be carrying more of the cost of supporting struggling households and businesses.
They are calling on Canada to follow Australia and Britain’s lead in charging “excess profit” taxes on banks, while urging lenders to cut their customers a break in a time of crisis.
As of midday Friday, nearly 80,000 people had signed a petition organized by Democracy Watch calling on the banks to halve their interest rates to consumers and suspend debt repayments for anyone who needs it.