More notice of bank closures and easier cheque cashing: 5 nuggets buried in Tuesday's budget

Sprinkled throughout Tuesday’s budget and its digital-only annexes are several measures that could impact the lives of many Canadians. 

Here are five of the most interesting.

In recent years, many banks have been closing branches – something that hits particularly hard in some rural areas of the country, where it can be a long drive from one branch to another. The Canadian Bankers Association says the number of bank branches dropped by nine per cent over a decade from 6,205 in 2012 to 5,656 in 2022. Since then, the number has continued to drop.

The budget will amend the Bank Act to “require that banks provide public notice of branch closures on their websites" and "to prohibit the charging of certain account switching or closure fees from the time the bank gives notice of its intent to close a branch until 12 months following their branch closure."

The government will also tighten up the rules to require that branches have sufficient processes to authenticate identification documents when opening accounts for people who aren’t physically present at a branch.

In its explanatory notes, the government says the measure will particularly help seniors and Canadians who live in rural and remote areas.

“This amendment will help ensure that such groups have clear processes for opening bank accounts remotely and are protected from unfair barriers when changing banking services after the closing of a local branch.”

The federal government and many Canadian veterans have been at odds in recent years over the costs veterans pay for accommodation and meals in long term care. The cost is supposed to be set at a level equal to the lowest cost of room and board in the least expensive province, but in 2024, CBC News revealed that a misinterpretation of federal rules may have caused tens of thousands of Canadian veterans to be overcharged for long term care since at least 2005.

The discovery prompted a class action suit against the federal government.

In the budget, the government is clarifying the rules – retroactively.

The government is proposing changes to the Department of Veterans Affairs Act and its regulations “to clarify the methodology used to calculate the accommodation and meals charge in the long-term care program on both a retroactive and go-forward basis.”

The government will also “clarify and make explicit” that Veterans Affairs had the authority to prorate certain indexation adjustments in calculating the now repealed earnings loss benefit under the Canadian Forces Members and Veterans Re-establishment and Compensation Act.

Meanwhile, in the main text of the budget, the government is promising faster service for veterans and plans to reduce its reimbursement for medically prescribed cannabis from $8.50 to $6 per gram.

It’s something Canada Post has wanted for years.