Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart says he “feels sick” about the arrest and BMO should be held accountable. BC's police complaint commissioner is investigating last month's arrest of a 12-year-old girl and her grandfather. Social Media has been lit up with anti-BMO comments, with many saying the bank must fire the employee or employees responsible for Johnson and his granddaughter’s abuse and ill-treatment. Many are also calling for Johnson to sue BMO for emotional and physical damages. 

By DESIBUZZCanada Staff With News Files

VANCOUVER — Were the conduct of Bank of Montreal (BMO) staff and subsequently the Vancouver police department (VPD) racist? The trauma their actions have caused definitely points to historical racism the native Canadian community has suffered at the hands of the government, police and corporations.

An investigation has been launched into the harsh treatment by BMO and the Vancouver police department which handcuffed a 12-year-old Indigenous girl and her grandfather who was trying to open an account for his granddaughter. 

The 12-year-old Indigenous girl who has been identified only as Tory-Anne told CBC News she doesn't even want to think about what happened anymore.

"I was scared," Tori-Anne said Monday. "The whole thing being handcuffed, after all the identification we showed that we are who we are.”

“I try my hardest not to think about it," she said from a Vancouver lawyer's office.

Tori-Anne’s grandfather Maxwell told CBC that Police Chief Adam Palmer was wrong to say police had the right to handcuff the two.

"We were calm, we were not making any fuss or anything — if it was non-native grandfather and granddaughter, I don't think they would have done that," he said. 

He is confident the police and the bank were racially profiling them. 

Tori-Anne said she was trying to open a bank account so that her grandfather could e-transfer money to her when she is on the road during basketball games and cultural events.

And Vancouver mayor is furious at both BMO and VPD’s absolute horrible conduct in this matter

 BC’s police complaint commissioner is investigating last month’s arrest of a 12-year-old girl and her grandfather after they tried to open a new bank account in Vancouver.

The incident took place on Dec. 20 at a BMO branch and followed a bank worker’s report of possible fraud by the Indigenous man.

The Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner (OPCC) has determined further investigation is warranted to determine if the Vancouver Police officers involved behaved appropriately when handcuffs were used to detain the child and her grandfather.

“It is important that there be a thorough and independent investigation of this matter. The investigation will carefully examine and assess the circumstances of this incident including the legal authority to detain, arrest and use restraining devices such as handcuffs as well as any relevant questions of policy or training,” says Andrea Spindler, deputy police complaint commissioner.

Vancouver police confirm they were called to a downtown branch after receiving a report of a “fraud in progress.”

“Both individuals who were identified by the bank as suspects were initially handcuffed while officers investigated the claim. Officers confirmed the identity of the two individuals and confirmed that no criminal activity had occurred. The individuals were released and officers continued to complete the investigation and closed the call,” says a statement from the Vancouver Police Department.

Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart says he “feels sick” about the arrest and BMO should be held accountable.

“I’m calling on BMO to really take full responsibility for this and take actions to make sure this doesn’t happen again,” he says.

Mayor Stewart is accusing BMO of misleading Vancouver police in a 911 call that led to an Indigenous man and his 12-year-old granddaughter being handcuffed last month.

“I felt sick when I first heard about this incident and I find it unacceptable that the Bank of Montreal turned what should have been a positive occasion into one that reinforces our colonial past,” said Stewart in a statement issued Jan. 13.

 “I am sad for the long-term impacts this may have on the child, her family and the broader community. BMO needs to do right by this family, take full responsibility for their actions and ensure this does not happen again.”

CBC News broke the story Jan. 9 involving Maxwell Johnson and his granddaughter, who were at the Bank of Montreal branch at Burrard and Dunsmuir streets Dec. 20 to open a bank account for the girl.

The CBC story said Johnson, 56, and his granddaughter used government-issued Indian Status cards, his birth certificate and her medical card in an attempt to open an account.

The Bank of Montreal issued a statement via Twitter in response to the story, saying the bank was reviewing what occurred, how it was handled and planned to use it as “a learning opportunity.”

“We value our long and special relationship with Indigenous communities,” the tweet said.

Stewart said the incident will be reviewed by the police board, which oversees department policy. Two of the members of the board are Indigenous.

“I will have more to report as this process unfolds at the board, but what is clear right now is that no young person doing something as innocent as opening their first bank account should ever be put in this situation,” the mayor said.

“I will do everything I can to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

Social Media has been lit up with anti-BMO comments, with many saying the bank must fire the employee or employees responsible for Johnson and his granddaughter’s abuse and ill-treatment. Many are also calling for Johnson to sue BMO for emotional and physical damages. 

Johnson has said he may file a human rights complaint with BMO over the incident.

Johnson’s cousin Vivian Contessa Brown, who organized the protest, said the incident is an example of a daily occurrence for many Indigenous people, and wants to use it to prompt change.

“Our whole community is outraged,” she said.

 “We want to get a message not just to BMO, but to all of Canada, that racism and discrimination needs to stop.”

Brown said she wants BMO staff to undergo sensitivity training on “how they treat their customers” in order to avoid similar incidents in the future.

Erminia Johannson, group head of North American personal banking and U.S. business banking, apologized Thursday, after the bank announced a new Indigenous Advisory Council. But Johannson rejected that the incident was racism.

“We made a mistake here. Let’s be very clear. I want to make sure that is understood,” said Johannson.  “We are sad. We are broken ourselves in the sense of saying this should not have happened on our shift.”

Johnson said the whole incident traumatized him and his granddaughter and brought his memories of Indigenous people being taken away as a children by the RCMP.

"It's unbelievable. It just brought back memories of handcuffing younger kids at residential school," Johnson said.