Harold Chamberlain "Hal" Banks (February 28, 1909 – September 24, 1985) from Waterloo, Iowa was a controversial labour union leader in Canada. An American with mob connections, he came to Canada in 1949 to help bust purportedly Communist-controlled shipping unions and establish the Seafarers International Union as their replacement.
He remained in Canada until 1964, when he returned to the United States rather than face criminal charges stemming from a physical assault on a rival union leader. The Pearson government took control of the union and pressed charges against him. The Canadian government filed an extradition request, which was refused by U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson.
In 1985, Canadian documentary filmmaker Donald Brittain made a film about Banks, Canada's Sweetheart: The Saga of Hal C. Banks. Maury Chaykin played Banks in historical reenactments. A 1988 book by Canadian author Peter Edwards, "Waterfront Warlord" corrected several errors in the film, including the implication that Banks had his nemesis John Droeger killed.
Famous quotes containing the word banks:
“The world is a puzzling place today. All these banks sending us credit cards, with our names on them. Well, we didn’t order any credit cards! We don’t spend what we don’t have. So we just cut them in half and throw them out, just as soon as we open them in the mail. Imagine a bank sending credit cards to two ladies over a hundred years old! What are those folks thinking?”
—Sarah Louise Delany (b. 1889)