CANADA: Profs say COVID-19 highlights the need for more — and better — public banks Strong, democratic and accountable public banks in Canada could help reverse the impact of privatizing vital services, according to experts Mar 10, 2021 8:55 PM By: The Conversation File photo This article, written by David McDonald, Queen's University, Ontario and Thomas Marois, UCL, originally appeared on The Conversation and has been republished here with permission: Most Canadians could be forgiven for not knowing what a public bank is. We do have some — the Alberta Treasury Branch, the Business Development Bank, the Export Development Canada and the Canada Infrastructure Bank — but they are relatively low profile and have narrow mandates.