A class action on behalf of the cannabis industry has been launched against several major Canadian banks for “financially discriminating” against players in the industry.
A request for authorization in class action was filed earlier this week, announced Friday the SGF Group, a Quebec firm specializing in the cannabis industry, which oversees the lawsuit.
The plaintiff is Gabriel Bélanger, the founder and main shareholder of Origami Extraction, a cannabis microprocessing company located in Beauce. National Bank, Bank of Montreal, TD Bank, Royal Bank, CIBC and Desjardins Group are targeted by the class action.
The legal action mainly argues that these financial institutions deny the opening of bank accounts, international operations and access to various financial tools such as mortgages and lines of credit for companies in the cannabis industry that carry out activities 100% legal.
“Canadian banks have treated the cannabis industry like pariahs for far too long, as if it were all still completely illegal. By doing so, they deprive the Canadian economy, but especially the local economy, of developing a promising market, says Me Maxime Guérin, lawyer at the SGF Group, in a press release.
The law firm says the class action also seeks to represent all individuals and businesses who, directly or indirectly, have been involved in the legal cannabis industry since October 17, 2018, and have “lived any (sic ) difficulties” with the Canadian banks involved. This includes Licensed Producers, Distributors of Fertilizers, Fertilizers and Distributors of Growing Equipment.