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Tuesday, May 11, 2004
Residents of Lynn Lake, Man., face long commute to bank after CIBC shuts ATM
LYNN LAKE, Man. (CP) - Personal banking has just become an all-day affair for Joey Barnes.
Before the CIBC shut down Lynn Lake's only full-service automated teller machine Tuesday, the small business operator had convenient access to deposits mailed to his branch 320 kilometres away in Thompson, Man. Now he'll have to borrow a friend's truck for the eight- or nine-hour round trip on a rough road to make a withdrawal.
"I'm sitting here right now and I have a stack of toonies in front of me, I've got $5 cash in my pocket and that's it," said Barnes.
"Meanwhile, I've got $4,500 in cheques sitting on my table right now and I know I can't cash them in this town."
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But Barnes knows he is one of the lucky ones because he is able to drive to Thompson.
Those who can't are faced with a bus ride - a trip that would actually take three days because of conflicting bus and bank schedules.
"It's very sad to see that machine go," said Barnes.
A CIBC spokesman said the bank's decision was based on the high cost of servicing the machine, combined with the popularity of Interac machines in businesses and a steady population decline in the former mining town.
"Based on the transaction levels, which are now very, very low, it really is no longer possible for us to continue operating this machine," Rob McLeod said in an interview from Toronto.
The CIBC's decision leaves all of northwestern Manitoba without any bank branch or full-service machine.
Branches in both Lynn Lake and Leaf Rapids closed shortly after the communities' mines shut their doors.
Mark Matiasek, Lynn Lake's economic development officer, said the loss of the bank machine will have far-reaching consequences.
Some costs, such as missed work hours for people who need to travel to Thompson and wear-and-tear on vehicles, are difficult to measure.
But he said the greater fear is the widespread "economic leakage" that will result if tourists stay away from the lucrative sport fishing industry and residents do their shopping while they bank in Thompson instead of supporting Lynn Lake businesses.
"It's just another challenge imposed upon Lynn Lakers at a time when we really don't need any additional challenges," said Matiasek.
The bank's decision is just one of several economic struggles affecting Lynn Lake, which has been home to nickel, copper and gold mining since the town was founded in 1949.
Mayor Audie Dulewich wants the Manitoba government to step in and help resolve a $6-million tax dispute with Black Hawk Mining, which was taken over by Glencairn Gold Corp. last fall.
Dulewich says the lost revenue, combined with a dwindling residential tax base and crumbling infrastructure, has resulted in a dizzying exercise in number crunching.
"Right now we're pretty well broke," said Dulewich.
"The end of the month will be crunch time for payroll, unless we start completely wiping out the reserves we have in other areas, which might bring us through to the end of the year."
Ten town employees will have their hours cut, while two others will be laid off.
Intergovernmental Affairs Minister MaryAnn Mihychuk said provincial negotiators are working with Glencairn to resolve the tax dispute.
"The department feels fairly confident that given the company's interest in settling we can do it without going to the next quasi-judicial process," said Mihychuk.
In the meantime, Mihychuk noted it's not unusual for communities to use their lines of credit at this time of year as they wait for taxes to roll in.
Dulewich said his town has all but exhausted its $400,000 line of credit.
© The Canadian Press, 2004
Residents of Lynn Lake, Man., face long commute to bank after CIBC shuts ATM
LYNN LAKE, Man. (CP) - Personal banking has just become an all-day affair for Joey Barnes.
Before the CIBC shut down Lynn Lake's only full-service automated teller machine Tuesday, the small business operator had convenient access to deposits mailed to his branch 320 kilometres away in Thompson, Man. Now he'll have to borrow a friend's truck for the eight- or nine-hour round trip on a rough road to make a withdrawal.
"I'm sitting here right now and I have a stack of toonies in front of me, I've got $5 cash in my pocket and that's it," said Barnes.
"Meanwhile, I've got $4,500 in cheques sitting on my table right now and I know I can't cash them in this town."
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But Barnes knows he is one of the lucky ones because he is able to drive to Thompson.
Those who can't are faced with a bus ride - a trip that would actually take three days because of conflicting bus and bank schedules.
"It's very sad to see that machine go," said Barnes.
A CIBC spokesman said the bank's decision was based on the high cost of servicing the machine, combined with the popularity of Interac machines in businesses and a steady population decline in the former mining town.
"Based on the transaction levels, which are now very, very low, it really is no longer possible for us to continue operating this machine," Rob McLeod said in an interview from Toronto.
The CIBC's decision leaves all of northwestern Manitoba without any bank branch or full-service machine.
Branches in both Lynn Lake and Leaf Rapids closed shortly after the communities' mines shut their doors.
Mark Matiasek, Lynn Lake's economic development officer, said the loss of the bank machine will have far-reaching consequences.
Some costs, such as missed work hours for people who need to travel to Thompson and wear-and-tear on vehicles, are difficult to measure.
But he said the greater fear is the widespread "economic leakage" that will result if tourists stay away from the lucrative sport fishing industry and residents do their shopping while they bank in Thompson instead of supporting Lynn Lake businesses.
"It's just another challenge imposed upon Lynn Lakers at a time when we really don't need any additional challenges," said Matiasek.
The bank's decision is just one of several economic struggles affecting Lynn Lake, which has been home to nickel, copper and gold mining since the town was founded in 1949.
Mayor Audie Dulewich wants the Manitoba government to step in and help resolve a $6-million tax dispute with Black Hawk Mining, which was taken over by Glencairn Gold Corp. last fall.
Dulewich says the lost revenue, combined with a dwindling residential tax base and crumbling infrastructure, has resulted in a dizzying exercise in number crunching.
"Right now we're pretty well broke," said Dulewich.
"The end of the month will be crunch time for payroll, unless we start completely wiping out the reserves we have in other areas, which might bring us through to the end of the year."
Ten town employees will have their hours cut, while two others will be laid off.
Intergovernmental Affairs Minister MaryAnn Mihychuk said provincial negotiators are working with Glencairn to resolve the tax dispute.
"The department feels fairly confident that given the company's interest in settling we can do it without going to the next quasi-judicial process," said Mihychuk.
In the meantime, Mihychuk noted it's not unusual for communities to use their lines of credit at this time of year as they wait for taxes to roll in.
Dulewich said his town has all but exhausted its $400,000 line of credit.
© The Canadian Press, 2004
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