{"id":61411,"date":"2023-11-16T06:30:00","date_gmt":"2023-11-16T11:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/?p=61411"},"modified":"2023-11-23T14:56:07","modified_gmt":"2023-11-23T19:56:07","slug":"students-climate-activists-protest-rbc-presence-at-royal-canadian-geographical-society-gala","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/press-release\/61411\/students-climate-activists-protest-rbc-presence-at-royal-canadian-geographical-society-gala\/","title":{"rendered":"Students, climate activists protest RBC presence at Royal Canadian Geographical Society gala"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

OTTAWA<\/strong> \u2013 Thirty protestors gathered outside the Royal Canadian Geographical Society Gala at the Canadian War Museum to protest the involvement of the Royal Bank of Canada in the event, calling out the bank’s continued funding of the fossil fuel industry and violations of Indigenous sovereignty. The protest, jointly organized by Change Course and Greenpeace Canada, included a 14-foot inflatable effigy of RBC CEO Dave McKay, who has been referred to by environmental groups as a \u201cclimate villain\u201d[1], alongside a large-scale projection featuring phrases like \u201cRBC Funds the CGL Pipeline, Threatening Wild Salmon\u201d. <\/p>\n\n

\u201cRBC is the world\u2019s biggest fossil fuel financier.<\/a> Despite its attendance at an event meant to celebrate those highlighting \u201cthe gifts our lands and waters bring to all Canadians<\/a>\u201d, RBC is actively damaging Indigenous lands and waters through its funding practices,\u201d said student Alex Stratas. \u201cUntil RBC stops funding climate destruction and colonial violence, they should not be given a platform to enable their greenwashing. We call on post-secondary institutions, and all organizations that claim to care about environmental protection and reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, to cut ties with RBC.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

In addition to having financed fossil fuel development to the tune of USD$42.1 billion in 2022 [2], RBC remains one of the biggest funders of the Coastal GasLink pipeline [3] \u2014 a project cutting through Wet\u2019suwet\u2019en territory that not only lacks the free, prior and informed consent of the Wet\u2019suwet\u2019en Hereditary Chiefs, but is also being actively resisted by Indigenous land defenders.[4] Coastal GasLink has been criticized for threatening wild salmon populations in the Wedzin Kwa (Morice River) on Wet\u2019suwet\u2019en territory, and was slapped with fines for misinformation and environmental deficiencies this past September.[5][6]<\/p>\n\n

Between 2016 and 2022, RBC allocated a mere 1% of its energy finance to renewable energy.[7]  <\/p>\n\n

\u201cThe generosity RBC shows nature appreciation groups is dwarfed by the generosity it shows the fossil fuel industry,\u201d said Tara Seucharan, mobilization campaigner at Greenpeace Canada. \u201cBanks like RBC show up to these events because they want the public to see them as good corporate citizens. By continuing to put 99% of its energy finance into fossil fuels, RBC is part of the problem. We’re here to cut through the greenwashing and remind the public that banks are only as good as what they finance. And if banks like RBC won\u2019t do it on their own, then we should demand that our elected officials make them be part of the solution.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

In the past year, students across the country have taken action against RBC and other banks that fund climate chaos, demanding they divest from fossil fuels or get off campuses. Last spring, the University of Ottawa General Assembly passed a motion denouncing RBC\u2019s continued funding of fossil fuels and committing itself to advocate for their removal from campus.[8] <\/p>\n\n

Hours before the demonstration in front of the RCGS gala, RBC executives met with University of Ottawa students in an attempt to quell the student movement growing against them on campuses. <\/p>\n\n

\u201cWe reiterated our demands to RBC, and told them they can expect to continue facing pressure from students across the country until those demands are met,\u201d said student Alex Stratas.<\/p>\n\n

ENDS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Notes to editor:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Photos and videos of the event can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

Background information or additional resources <\/p>\n\n

[1] https:\/\/environmentaldefence.ca\/2023\/05\/11\/canadas-top-seven-climate-villains-fueling-climate-catastrophe\/<\/a> <\/p>\n\n

[2] https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/press-release\/58116\/new-report-rbc-jumps-to-worlds-1-fossil-fuel-financier\/<\/a> <\/p>\n\n

[3] https:\/\/www.banktrack.org\/project\/coastal_gaslink_pipeline<\/a> 6<\/a> <\/p>\n\n

[4] https:\/\/thenarwhal.ca\/wetsuweten-coastal-gaslink-rcmp-overview\/<\/a> <\/p>\n\n

[5] https:\/\/thenarwhal.ca\/coastal-gaslink-spawning-salmon\/<\/a> <\/p>\n\n

[6] https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/9979400\/bc-coastal-gaslink-fines-violations\/<\/a> <\/p>\n\n

[7] https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/story\/57198\/rbc-is-putting-99-of-its-energy-finance-into-fossil-fuels-heres-what-they-should-fund-instead\/<\/a> <\/p>\n\n

[8] https:\/\/changecourse.ca\/student-win-ottawa\/<\/a> <\/p>\n\n

For more information, please contact:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Claire Le Saux, Communications Officer, Greenpeace Canada<\/p>\n\n

claire.lesaux@greenpeace.org<\/a>; +1 438 925-0794<\/p>\n\n


Levi Clarkson, Change Course
levi@changecourse.ca<\/a>; +1 613 297 7900<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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