Widow, 101, says Rotary Foundation Canada refuses to share husband's $40M fortune
'All they've been doing is delay tactics, to keep delaying until I die'
A 101-year-old Edmonton widow is in a legal battle with the Rotary Foundation Canada over which charities should benefit from her late husband's $40-million estate.
Mary McEachern says the foundation has repeatedly blocked her efforts to honour her husband's final wishes and redistribute his estate to various charities, not the Rotary alone.
"My husband wanted this money to go to many, many deserving charities," McEachern said in an interview with CBC. "But Rotary wants it all, and they're doing every delay tactic they could have done in the past four years to keep it theirs."
A senior Rotary official says the foundation wants to settle the Court of King's Bench dispute but a lack of financial transparency has delayed negotiations.
The same official says the family's decision to take the case public in a "well-orchestrated media campaign" has unfairly maligned the organization.
A question of charity
Steve McEachern accumulated his wealth in his role as an investment advisor with Investors Group, where he worked for 65 years. A lifelong philanthropist, he served with a number of community boards and charities, including Rotary.
When he wrote his will, he entrusted his entire fortune to the Rotary foundation, with the exception of a trust fund to cover his wife's living expenses.
However, Mary McEachern said her husband of 74 years had a change of heart before his death at the age of 98 on Sept. 10, 2020.
She said he instead wished to distribute his assets to 17 charities, including the Rotary foundation, Shock Trauma Air Rescue Service (STARS), the Edmonton Humane Society, the Mustard Seed, the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute, and the University of Alberta.
In an affidavit, Mary McEachern described how her husband's wishes changed in the final months of his life, as the COVID-19 pandemic made him aware of the growing need among charities closer to home.
She said her husband was unable to make a new will before his death because of public health restrictions and his declining health.
"He advised me of how important it was to him for me to do everything within my power to ensure that his true charitable-giving wishes are carried out."
McEachern said she has offered the Rotary foundation $13 million — as her husband wished — but Rotary has refused to respond.
Four years after Steve McEachern's death, his estate remains untouched, ensnared in the ongoing legal dispute.
Mary McEachern's application to access the estate through her rights to a spousal trust fund has been met with a string of affidavits seeking to have her removed as executor of the estate and questioning her capacity to manage her husband's fortune.
The case is proceeding as a Family Maintenance and Support claim and is expected to remain adjourned well into the new year.
McEachern and her family launched a public campaign this month — creating a website detailing the case and urging people to contact Rotary in the hopes public pressure will help resolve the dispute.
"It's obvious they're stalling," she said. "All they've been doing is delay tactics, to keep delaying until I die."
Steve
and Mary McEachern were married for more than seven decades. Following
Steve's death, Mary began fighting to distribute his fortune to multiple
charities. (Submitted by McEachern family)
Court documents show Steve McEachern's will, which includes a provision for a spousal trust, was notarized in November 2019.
Mary McEachern and Concentra Trust were named as personal representatives and co-trustees. Upon Mary's death, the estate would be directed to Rotary for the purpose of supplying fresh water, sanitation and micro-financing in impoverished countries.
The will provides that the trustees have "uncontrolled discretion to encroach upon the capital" of the spousal trust for as long as Mary McEachern lives.
In an affidavit, the lawyer who processed the will said his client did not trust anyone other than his wife to deal with the administration of his estate, but asked that Concentra be named co-executor to help her manage the sizable portfolio.
According to court documents, Concentra told Mary in November 2021 that it could not approve her request to access all the capital within the estate without first applying to the court. That signalled the start of legal proceedings.
We need to do the due diligence to make an informed decision and we do not have the information we need to make that informed decision.
-Dean Rohrs, Rotary Foundationm
Dean Rohrs, past-president of Rotary Foundation Canada, said the foundation became aware of the estate dispute the following year.
In an interview Wednesday, Rohrs said a lack of documentation and disclosure on the estate financials has delayed any discussions of a settlement.
She declined to provide details on what paperwork is missing but said taxes and outstanding debts must be accounted for.
"We need to do the due diligence to make an informed decision and we do not have the information we need to make that informed decision," she said.
"This is really a media campaign. It's a pretty well-orchestrated media campaign, which is really out there to distort the truth because we didn't start the litigation."
Rohrs said the family's public campaign has been painful for the foundation and the organization is desperate to see it resolved.
She said the case has done "significant damage" to the foundation and that it has received an influx of abusive emails.
Foundation officials have not met with the family but did not have the opportunity to negotiate before the dispute was taken to the courts, she said.
"Our first aim is to satisfy the intent of the donor, but also to make sure that there is fairness and clarity in the way the funds are then stewarded," Rohrs said.
"Steve McEachern's wishes will be honoured by Rotary but it needs to be honoured on the right information.
"The minute that we have that, negotiations will start and we will reach a resolution that will work for both sides of the family — his Rotary family and his own family."
The couple married in 1946 and lived together until Steve's death. They didn't have children. Throughout their marriage, Mary worked as a nurse but also served as her husband's administrative assistant, helping him to build his business.
She said she had assured her husband that a lasting charitable legacy would be created in his name. She has since established the McEachern Family Foundation.
"He was very definite about changing his mind and wanting the money to stay in our part of the world and I agree with him," she said.
"He wanted it to go on long after we're all gone."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Board of Directors of The Rotary Foundation (Canada)
The responsibilities of the directors of The Rotary Foundation (Canada) are to manage the affairs of The Rotary Foundation (Canada), including oversight of funds invested in Canada, provide tax receipts to donors in compliance with Canadian law and to furnish donor recognition on behalf of the trustees of The Rotary Foundation.
The Rotary Foundation - Code of Policies (extract)
3.010. Preamble to the Guidelines for Associate Foundations
The Rotary Foundation believes that there should be one Rotary Foundation that serves Rotarians and clubs throughout the world but understands that substantial benefits have been provided by those associate foundations recognized by the Trustees of TRF. This includes not only raising funds for the use of TRF programs but also the provision of services in support of The Rotary Foundation’s global programs. The Trustees acknowledge that it is to the clear advantage of Rotary International that it have only one Foundation to develop and maintain the best global programs and international investments, but that associate foundations significantly enhance the service by TRF to Rotarians and Rotary clubs. (June 2008 Trustees Mtg., Dec. 178)
3.030.1. The Rotary Foundation (Canada)
The Trustees have approved the formation of a not-for-profit foundation in Canada to be known as The Rotary Foundation (Canada) which is authorized to receive Foundation funds and disburse the same only on foundation-authorized programs in accordance with the agency agreement dated 31 March 1999. (June 2001 Trustees Mtg., Dec. 207)
Directors of The Rotary Foundation (Canada)
Executive Committee
- President - Eva Vida
- Vice-President - Valarie Wafer
- Treasurer - Pat Killoran
- Secretary - Robert O’Brien
- Member - PRID Bryn Styles
- Member - Maureen Fritz-Roberts
TRF Trustee Liaison
- Marty Peak Helman
Finance Committee
- Chair – Pat Killoran
- Tim Schilds
- Eva Vida
- PRIVP Valarie Wafer
Governance Committee
- Chair – Bryn Styles
- Robert O'Brien
- Carol Tichelman
Projects Committee
- Chair – Maureen Fritz-Roberts
- Bob Wallace
- Eva Vida
Communications Committee
- Chair – Chris Offer
- Phoenix MacLaren
- Dino Marzaro
Investment Committee
- Chair - PRIVP Valarie Wafer
- Tim Shields
- Eva Vida
Advisers
- Richard Clarke*
- Betty Screpnek*
- Dean Rohrs
- TRFC Office Administrator*
*non-voting members
We’re here to help.
Please call us at 1-800-788-6311 or email one of our dedicated team members today.
Director of Registered Plans, Credit Unions
sgusikoski@eqbank.ca
30 St. Clair Avenue West, Suite 700
Toronto, Ontario M4V 3A1
How to contact the Dispute Resolution Office?
| dro-brd@eqbank.ca or dro-brd@eqtrust.ca (as applicable) | |
| Dispute Resolution Office, Equitable Bank/Equitable Trust/EQ Bank/Concentra Bank/Concentra Trust (as applicable) Equitable Bank Tower 30 St. Clair Avenue West, Suite 700 Toronto, Ontario M4V 3A1 |
Equitable Bank is a Canadian bank that specializes in residential and commercial real estate lending, as well as personal banking through its digital arm, EQ Bank. Founded in 1970 as The Equitable Trust Company, it became a Schedule I Bank in 2013 and has since grown to become Canada's seventh largest bank by assets.[3]
EQ Bank was Canada's first digital bank, serving more than 578,000 customers across Canada.[4] EQ Bank has been recognized as the Top Schedule I Bank in Canada by Forbes World's Best Banks for three years in a row (2021, 2022, and 2023).[5][6][7]
As of 2023, Equitable Bank had over $31 billion in deposits[8] and over $111 billion in combined assets under management and administration.[4] It offers a range of financial solutions, including mortgages, business financing, and bank accounts. It operates from its headquarters in Toronto and has regional offices in Calgary, Halifax, Montreal, and Vancouver. Its parent company, EQB Inc., is a publicly traded company on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol EQB (TSX: EQB) and a member of the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation.
History
Equitable Bank was founded under the name The Equitable Trust Company in 1970 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.[9] The Trust company was headquartered at 1 James Street South. By 1990, The Equitable Trust Company became an operating company with $50 million in assets and four employees in its Toronto office.[9]
In 2004, Equitable Group Inc. was created as the holding company of The Equitable Trust Company and was listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange.[10]
Andrew Moor was appointed president and chief executive officer in March 2007.[11]
On July 1, 2013, The Equitable Trust Company was renamed Equitable Bank and became a Schedule I Bank offering savings products such as Guaranteed Investment Certificates, Tax-Free Savings Accounts, and High Interest Savings Accounts.[12]
On June 6, 2022, Equitable Group, the holding company for Equitable Bank, changed its legal name to EQB, aligning itself with its subsidiaries.[13]
In July 2022, Equitable Bank announced it would migrate its banking systems onto Microsoft Azure cloud infrastructure, following its digital banking platform EQ Bank. The company aims to completely transition to the cloud by 2026.[14]
Expansion
Equitable Bank launched a direct banking operation branded as EQ Bank on January 14, 2016.[15] As a completely online banking service, EQ Bank has no branch locations.[16] At launch the bank attracted customers with the Savings Plus Account, a high interest savings account with interest rate of 3.0%.[17]
Acquisitions
On January 1, 2019, Equitable Bank completed its acquisition of Bennington Financial Services Corp, a growing privately owned company serving the brokered equipment leasing market in Canada.[18]
In November 2022, EQB closed its acquisition of Concentra Bank (majority then owned by SaskCentral) in a deal worth $495 million, which, according to Equitable Bank, made it Canada's seventh largest bank. Concentra operated under the Wyth Financial brand, which will be replaced by the EQ Bank brand.[19]
Products & Services
Residential products
Commercial products
- Business mortgage lending
Savings products
- Term deposits and Guaranteed Investment Certificates (GIC)
- High Interest Savings Accounts (HISA)
Insurance lending
- The Equitable Bank CSV FLEX Line of Credit
- The Equitable Bank Immediate Financing Agreement
EQ Bank
 | |
| Product type | Direct banking |
|---|---|
| Owner | Equitable Bank |
| Country | Canada |
| Introduced | January 14, 2016 |
| Website | eqbank |
EQ Bank launched on January 14, 2016, as a direct banking operation of Equitable Bank.[15] As a completely online banking service, EQ Bank has no branch locations. It does not offer cheques to its customers.[16] EQ Bank is CDIC insured under Equitable Bank.[20]
The primary product offered by EQ Bank is the Savings Plus Account, a high interest savings account with no monthly fees. All of EQ Bank's products require a Savings Plus Account.
At launch the bank attracted customers with an interest rate of 3.0% on its Savings Plus Account.[17] The rate was lowered on April 18, just 96 days later, to 2.25%.[15] The rate was lowered again to 2.0% on August 25, 2016.[21] In May 2017 the rate was raised to 2.3%.[22] From January to March 2020, the rate peaked at 2.45% before being reduced to 2.0% in response to reductions of the Bank of Canada interest rates due to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.[23] The Savings Plus Account interest rate continued to reduce periodically, hitting a low of 1.25% in July 2021.[24] In April 2022, EQ Bank began incrementally increasing its interest rate over a period of several months.[25] As of October 2022, the interest rate for the Savings Plus Account is 2.50%.[26]
EQ Bank began offering guaranteed investment certificates (GICs) in May 2018.[27] The bank offers GICs from 3 month to 10-year terms.[28]
EQ Bank moved its core banking system onto Microsoft Azure cloud infrastructure in November 2019. EQ Bank is the first bank in Canada to be hosted in the cloud.[29]
In 2019, it launched an international money transfer service in partnership with TransferWise (now known as Wise).[30] On February 6, 2020, the bank announced the addition of 15 new currencies, allowing conversions of over 40+ countries.[31]
The Joint Savings Plus Account, which allows customers to invite up to three other people, for a total of four account co-holders, was introduced in July 2020.[32]
The EQ Bank Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) and the EQ Bank Retirement Savings Plan (RSP) were introduced in December 2020. Both products have no fees and can be opened online.[33]
In May 2021, EQ Bank announced the launch of its Mortgage Marketplace, a digital service that will allow customers to shop over 2,000 mortgage products offered by various Canadian lenders. In partnership with nesto, a digital mortgage brokerage, users have the ability to be pre-qualified for a mortgage online and receive regular digital updates on the status of their application.[34]
EQ Bank launched the EQ Bank US Dollar Account in June 2021. The no-fee account gives EQ Bank customers the ability to send US dollars internationally.[35]
In January 2023, EQ Bank announced the launch of the EQ Bank Card, a prepaid reloadable Mastercard. The card features no foreign exchange fee, and free ATM withdrawals within Canada; fees are refunded within 10 business days. At launch, the EQ Bank Card offered a 0.5% cashback rate, with the card balance earning interest at the same rate as the Savings Plus Account.[36]
As of February 2023, EQ Bank has over 308,000 customers and $7.9B in deposits.[37] This follows the milestones of $5 billion in February 2021, preceded by $3 billion and $4 billion of deposits, both achieved in 2020.[38]
Products & Services
- Personal Account (Previously, High Interest Saving Account)
- Joint Account (Previously, Joint Savings Plus Account)
- EQ Bank US Dollar Account
- Mortgage Marketplace
- EQ Bank Tax-Free Savings Account
- EQ Bank Retirement Savings Plan
- EQ Bank First Home Savings Account
- EQ Bank Card
- International money transfers
- Guaranteed Investment Certificates (GIC)
- Small Business Banking Accounts (Launching soon)
Controversy
Upon launch, demand for EQ Bank's 3% interest rate offer overwhelmed the bank's operations, leading to long customer service wait times and delays in account activations. In March 2016, within three months of launch, it began to limit the number of people who could sign up for and then, implementing a reservation system on its website. A limited number of people would then be invited to sign up every week.[39]
CEO Andrew Moor admitted to underestimating the response from Canadians.[40]
Awards
In April 2021, EQ Bank was named the #1 Bank in Canada on the Forbes list of World's Best Banks 2021. The World's Best Banks were selected based on over 43,000 consumer surveys representing 28 different countries.[7]
In April 2022, EQ Bank was named the #1 Bank in Canada on the Forbes list of World's Best Banks 2022.[6]
In April 2023, EQ Bank was named the #1 Bank in Canada on the Forbes list of World's Best Banks 2023. This is the third year in a row that EQ Bank has been awarded best bank in Canada.[5]
MCEACHERN FAMILY FOUNDATION
Summary
- Designation description:
- Private Foundation
- Charity type:
- Other Purposes Beneficial to the Community
- Category:
- Foundations / Foundations funding community benefit QDs in general
- Business Registration Number:
- 789769106RR0001
- Website:
- n/a
- Mailing Address:
- 2800 - 10104 103 AVE NWEDMONTON, AlbertaT5J0H8CA
Directors / Trustees and Like Officials
Last Name | First Name | Middle Name | Initial | Position | At Arm’s Length | Appointed | Ceased |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
EDIE | ALLAN | secretary-treasurer | Y | 2021-06-29 | |||
MCEACHERN | MARGARET | chairperson | Y | 2021-06-29 |
Contact Us!
Home
Corporate Office
P 780-488-3030
F 780-488-3310
Toll Free 1-888-470-3030
14956 - 121A Avenue NW, Edmonton, Alberta T5V 1A3
email abedie@telus.net
| Contact Name(s) | Cell | ||
| Campbell River, BC | |||
| Campbell River Common | Allan Edie | 250-287-2557 | crcshop@telus.net |
| Edmonton, AB | |||
| Mayfield Square & 149 Street | Wade Whitfield | 780-722-5481 | abedie@telus.net |
| Glen Lazzer | 780-887-0463 | ||
| Calgary, AB | |||
| Eastport | Roberto Caballero | 403-968-9402 | |
| Winnipeg, MAN | |||
| 595 St. Anne's Road | Wade Whitfield | 780-722-5481 |
Corporate Office
P 780-488-3030
F 780-488-3310
Toll Free 1-888-470-3030
14956 - 121A Avenue NW, Edmonton, Alberta T5V 1A3
email abedie@telus.net
Our endowment funds support emerging and priority needs in the greater Edmonton community, now and for generations to come.
Some guy named Mat would not come to the phoneGeneral Info
Email info@ecf.ca
Phone
Direct: 1-780-426-0015
Toll Free: 1-780-426-0015
Fax: 1-780-426-0015
Address
9910 103 St NW
Edmonton, AB T5K 2V7
McEachern Family Foundation
Moffat Family Funds
Monat
R.J. Nelson Family Foundation
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