I guess each credit union is different but from my experience they only want people with exceptional credit history to be members.
I had middling credit score and a bunch of credit card debt. I showed the credit union I was making the interest payments on my credit card, they offered me a line of credit large enough to pay off the credit card and an interest rate that would keep my payments the same but actually pay down the principle. They then paid off my credit card and acted as my agent to close all of my accounts at TD.
It doesn't sound like you have credit unions down there. It sounds like you have private clubs for money. Which checks out. In Canada, banks credit unions are tightly government regulated, and opening a personal bank account is a legal right.