I spoke to the manager of my local credit union yesterday when I withdrew lots of cash. I had requested $1000 notes if they had any. The manager insisted that they were required by law to turn them in to the Bank of Canada. I asked her under which law, and she replied the BC Financial Institutions Act (which is not true.)
I explained that there was no such law, and that many banks are finding it in their best interest to consider their customers' needs over the wishes of the Bank of Canada. But she still didn't bite. Oh well. Maybe that's a line we can all use if we ever need $1000 notes; maybe it'll work for some of us.