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  NOTICE Peter Choy, of Richmond Hill, Ontario, had his membership with the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario revoked effective March 20, 2026, after being found to have committed professional misconduct (failing to act in a manner which will maintain the good reputation of the profession and serve the public interest; failing to sustain professional competence, making or associating with statements or representations which he knew, or should have known, were false or misleading, and failing to perform professional services in accordance with generally accepted standards of practice of the profession) by the Discipline Committee of CPA Ontario on March 19, 2026. Choy is no longer a Chartered Professional Accountant and is no longer entitled to use the designations “Chartered Professional Accountant” or “Certified General Accountant” or the initials “CPA” or “CGA”. Choy was also fined $15,000 and ordered to pay costs of $16,500. The Allegation(s), decision, order, and written reasons for findings of professional misconduct are posted on CPA Ontario’s website: https://www.cpaontario.ca/protecting-the- public/hearings-appeals/cases/d-25-015 CPAOntario.ca BUSINESS CLASSIFIED TO PLACE AN AD CALL: 1-866-999-9237 EMAIL: ADVERTISING@GLOBEANDMAIL.COM LEGALS WEDNESDAY, MAY 6, 2026 | THE GLOBE AND MAIL G B3 REPORT ON BUSINESS | EQ Bank chief executive officer Chadwick Westlake said Canada’s banking sector is not putting the needs of consumers and businesses first, urging Ottawa to move faster on measures to bolster competition and productivity. As the federal government redraws trade routes and rebuilds relationships with global partners, Canada has a “rare time-sensitive opportunity” to revive fi- nancial services, Mr. Westlake said at an event Tuesday held by Canadian Club To- ronto. Ottawa has targeted competition in the country’s highly concentrated bank- ing sector in a bid to address concerns over affordability and gaps in lending for certain businesses. “Our economy also relies heavily on our financial system, a system which is not currently delivering for everyday Can- adians in the way it could or should,” Mr. Westlake said. “Our banking system provides eco- nomic infrastructure, enables capital allo- cation and directly shapes our national productivity. This is not a sector on the margins. This is an essential system, and right now, that system is not working as well as it should for everyday Canadians.” Banking contributes to about 8 per cent of Canada’s gross domestic product, one of the highest ratios among any de- veloped economy. The country’s lenders are also among the most profitable, post- ing a significantly higher average return on equity compared with U.S. counter- parts, he said. And yet small and medium-sized busi- nesses struggle to get access to loans and consumers pay some of the highest bank- ing fees in the world, according to Mr. Westlake. Meanwhile, trade turmoil and econom- ic uncertainty are putting pressure on households and businesses. Mr. Westlake believes these issues will continue to weigh on people at the lower end of the “K-shaped” economy – those lower-in- come Canadians who are struggling while upper-income earners thrive. He said customers at EQ Bank, Cana- da’s seventh-largest bank, save about $200 each year in banking fees, and that the lender is focused on banking for Cana- dians who are priced out of larger lenders. Canada’s banking sector is dominated by six major lenders – Royal Bank of Can- ada, Toronto-Dominion Bank, Bank of Nova Scotia, Bank of Montreal, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and National Bank of Canada – that hold more than 90 per cent of market share. Mr. Westlake pointed to plans by Canada’s banking reg- ulator, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, to shave years off the application process to become a bank, in order to bring more competitors into the market. In an interview, OSFI head Peter Rout- ledge said the regulator will need to be- come more comfortable with certain fi- nancial institution failures to introduce more innovators and credit unions into the federally regulated system. Mr. Routledge has “actually opened people’s minds to the fact that maybe it’s okay if a few institutions fail along the way, when we make a more prosperous country,” Mr. Westlake said. On Tuesday morning, EQB Inc., owner of EQ Bank, said it secured final regulato- ry approval to take over PC Financial from Loblaw Cos. Ltd. The $800-million deal, which was first announced in December, will boost EQ Bank’s customer base to 3.3 million from around 800,000. In recent bank deals, the federal gov- ernment has taken several months to ap- prove takeovers. Mr. Westlake said the speed with which Ottawa approved EQ Bank’s acquisition is an indication that it is picking up the pace. “The United States is moving at a pace probably more four to six months‚” Mr. Westlake said. “If you think of when our application went and when this was ap- proved, we’re talking three months and change. What the government is saying is, ‘This is an example we’re making of how competition is going to be improved and supported in our country.’” EQ Bank CEO urges Ottawa to increase competition CEO Chadwick Westlake says customers at EQ Bank, Canada’s seventh-largest bank, save about $200 each year in banking fees, and that the lender is focused on banking for Canadians who are priced out of larger lenders. SAMMY KOGAN/THE CANADIAN PRESS Current banking system isn’t serving Canadians and country should seize opportunity for reform, Westlake says STEFANIE MAROTTA BANKING REPORTER A ruling by British Columbia’s environmental regulator to sup- port a $12-billion pipeline plan is unreasonable, say community leaders who have taken their concerns to the B.C. Supreme Court. Lawyers for environmental law charity Ecojustice claim that the province gave the pipeline the go-ahead unfairly and before enough initial work was done. The respondents counter that the initial construction was suffi- cient to garner the regulator’s support. After six days of hearings that wrapped up in Vancouver on Monday, B.C. Supreme Court Jus- tice Alison Latimer reserved her decision. At issue is the fate of the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission (PRGT) pipeline, which is meant to feed the $10-billion Ksi Lisims LNG project that would produce liquefied natural gas for export to Asia. It is being considered for fast-tracking by the federal gov- ernment’s Major Projects Office. Construction of the proposed 750-kilometre PRGT pipeline, which is co-owned equally by the Nisga’a Nation and Houston- based Western LNG, would trans- port natural gas across northern B.C. Alex MacLennan, the regula- tory head of the B.C. Environ- mental Assessment Office, ruled last June that the PRGT pipeline project met the construction threshold that it had to meet by November, 2024, for it to pro- ceed. Lawyers for Ecojustice who are representing the local pet- itioners – The Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition, the Kis- piox Valley Community Centre Association and resident Kath- leen Larson – disagreed. The petitioners argue that Mr. MacLennan failed to justify how a limited amount of work could be viewed as sufficiently advanc- ing the project. In their court filing the pet- itioners said Mr. MacLennan “de- termined that the PRGT project was substantially started despite only minimal construction in one section.” PRGT initially received its en- vironmental assessment certifi- cate in 2014, and won approval for a five-year extension in 2019, giving the project until Novem- ber, 2024, to substantially start pipeline construction to prevent the certificate from expiring. The respondents are PRGT, the Nisga’a Nation and B.C. Envi- ronment Minister Tamara David- son. The Nisga’a Nation said in its response in a court filing that more than 42 kilometres of pipe- line right-of-way were cleared on Nisga’a treaty lands. “A reason- able decision is one that is in- ternally coherent and justified in light of the legal and factual con- straints that bear on it. Decisions are not assessed against a stan- dard of perfection,” according to the response. PRGT argues that the petition- ers are improperly striving to challenge the provincial regula- tor’s ruling, saying Mr. MacLen- nan “meaningfully grappled with the key issues and concerns raised by the parties.” However, Ms. Larson said in an affidavit she is concerned about PRGT’s environmental im- pacts. “I also stated the need for updated data regarding climate change, the carbon sequestering capacity of the tree plantations and the value of moose habitat.” Representatives of Luutkudzi- iwus, a house group within the Gitxsan Nation’s hereditary gov- ernance system, filed a separate action also seeking to have the judge throw out Mr. MacLen- nan’s ruling. About 35 kilometres of PRGT’s route would cross land that falls under the boundaries of Luut- kudziiwus. The B.C. Environment Minis- try said in a court document that the judge does not need to rule on an internal leadership fight between Charlie Wright and Gor- don Sebastian, both of whom claim to be the hereditary chief representing Luutkudziiwus. Mr. Wright is the key petitioner in the Gitxsan action, while Mr. Se- bastian has offered his condi- tional support for PRGT. “With respect to the petition- er’s challenge based on alleged inadequacy of consultation, the petition should be dismissed with costs to the provincial re- spondent,” the B.C. Environment Ministry said in its filing. If the petitioners win the court case, Mr. MacLennan would need to make a decision again, with guidance from the judge about how to render it. The petitioners say that if the pipeline project is subsequently deemed to be not substantially started, PRGT would have to un- dergo a new B.C. environmental assessment if the backers still want to proceed. The Nisga’a Nation, Western LNG and a group of Western Can- adian natural gas producers called Rockies LNG are partners in the Ksi Lisims project to be developed at Pearse Island, locat- ed in northwest B.C. Ksi Lisims is expected to make a final investment decision later this year on whether to forge ahead with the development. Eva Clayton, elected president of the Nisga’a Lisims govern- ment, has been a vocal propo- nent of LNG exports from B.C. “We’re showing B.C., Canada and the world what Indigenous eco- nomic independence and shared prosperity can look like,” Ms. Clayton said in a statement last fall. LNG Canada, this country’s first export terminal for the fuel, began shipping last June from Kitimat, B.C., to Asia. LNG Cana- da’s Phase 2 expansion plan is also on Ottawa’s fast-tracking list. But critics say climate and health impacts are being ig- nored, and they are urging gov- ernments to suspend LNG devel- opment on the West Coast and fracking for natural gas in north- east B.C. Justice Latimer is expected to issue her ruling by the end of this year. Community leaders ask judge to overturn B.C. regulator’s support for pipeline BRENT JANG VANCOUVER Eva Clayton, elected president of the Nisga’a Lisims government, has been a vocal proponent of LNG exports from B.C. Construction of the proposed 750-kilometre Prince Rupert Gas Transmission pipeline would transport natural gas across northern B.C. ETHAN CAIRNS/ THE CANADIAN PRESS