It was a either a matter of racial profiling or just following procedures, depending who you ask.
Poundmaker's Lodge executive director Brad Cardinal said the treatment of six clients and a volunteer driver received at the TD Bank at the corner of St. Albert Trail and Hebert Road last Friday afternoon was racism, pure and simple.
"It's racial profiling at its finest," he said. "Apparently they were surrounded by the RCMP. Two vehicles surrounded the Poundmaker's Lodge van and started questioning them."
One of the officers who responded to the call reportedly grabbed a piece of paper from the driver's hand, asking if that was the note being used to rob the bank, when it turned out to just be a list of addresses.
Cardinal said the experience he had in trying to follow up on the complaint further cemented the fact there is racism at play in the police response to the matter.
When he raised the issue with the RCMP, he said the on-duty corporal he spoke to was dismissive, and ultimately "slammed the door shut" on discussion about his concerns.
"I go to someone and say, 'How can we address this issue? How can we bring awareness and education to the issue of racism and racial profiling?' and the door is immediately slammed shut, because people are uncomfortable talking about it," he said.
Cardinal has called for a boycott of the bank by all First Nations people and their allies in an effort to draw attention to the fact indigenous Canadians deal with racism – both overt and casual – on a daily basis.
Police response
In an emailed statement, St. Albert RCMP Cpl. Laurel Kading said police received call about 1:50 p.m. of a possible bank robbery in progress.
A witness thought she had heard two men sitting in a van parked in front of the bank talking about how long it would take for the silent alarm to go off.
The woman reported what she had heard to bank staff, who then phoned police. The van's driver, who was inside the bank when the suspicious comment was allegedly made, returned to the van before police arrived.
Two police cars responded, and after speaking with the people in the van, the officers were satisfied there was no criminal activity and advised the bank staff that everyone was safe.
Insp. Gibson Glavin, the head of media relations for the Alberta RCMP, said when officers respond to potentially dangerous situation like a potential bank robbery, they take the call seriously and determine as quickly as possible if the threat is credible.
"We got terrific co-operation from the clients who were there from Poundmaker's Lodge, and that's why we were able to determine within minutes what was really happening, and move on to other, more serious calls," he said.
RCMP officials met with lodge staff over the weekend, and a further meeting is planned for later this week.
Glavin said while the RCMP is not a racist organization – a great deal of effort is put in place to ensure members are trained in cultural issues and provide culturally sensitive service to aboriginal communities – the membership is as diverse as the country is.
"We are a very accurate reflection of Canada and Canadians," he said. "If we were to accept that racism exists in Canada – to whatever degree – it wouldn't be unusual to find any of those attitudes we wish people didn't have."
Bank response
Alicia Johnston, a spokesperson for TD, said the decision by bank employees to phone police had nothing to do with racial profiling – the people in question were wearing hoodies and their faces weren't visible.
When a customer reported she had heard a group discussing how long it would take for a silent alarm to go off, the acting branch manager decided to phone police.
"Safety and security is our No. 1 priority and our branch staff followed security protocol and contacted the RCMP immediately to report what the customer had told them," she said in an emailed statement.
Johnston said the bank reached out to the lodge over the weekend, with a vice-president and a senior branch manager trying to apologize in person with Cardinal on Monday, but were turned away.
"They were asked to leave and would not receive our letter of apology, so we sent it over by fax," she wrote.
‘Doesn't Wash'
For Cardinal, the argument racial profiling wasn't at play rings hollow, especially considering how many other people are sharing their own stories of discrimination.
"It doesn't wash, and I think the comments on our social media page is a great example," he said. "There are many stories on our page from individuals who … are telling their stories."
And the way in which bank representatives issued their apology, for him, underlines the concerns a lack of cultural sensitivity and underlying societal racism.
"Educate yourself on our cultural protocols and come to us with tobacco. Tobacco opens the door. We're not asking for anything else except to respect our cultural protocols," Cardinal said.
