Ottawa Police called to student protest demanding the University of Ottawa end its partnership with the Royal Bank of Canada

On January 31, Decolonial Solidarity Ottawa posted on Instagram:

“We leafleted today with students from the University of Ottawa’s Climate Justice group (@cjcuottawa) protesting RBC’s funding of the CGL pipeline on Wet’suwet’en Territory. And CJCUO launched a petition demanding the university end their partnership with RBC, kick the RBC kiosk off campus and end the bank’s sponsorship of campus activities. We handed out 100+ leaflets while RBC shut down the kiosk and called campus & RBC security as well the Ottawa police.”

In their Instagram post announcing the petition, Climate Justice Climatique UO (CJCUO) and Banking on a Better Future highlight: “RBC funds pipelines that violate Indigenous sovereignty, including the Coastal Gaslink Pipeline and the Trans Mountain Expansion.”

And the petition states:

“RBC predominantly finances the Coastal Gaslink Pipeline and underwrites the Trans Mountain Pipeline. These are both projects that violate the principles of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Coastal Gaslink Pipeline does not have the consent of the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs who have recognized jurisdiction over part of the territory it would cross. The Trans Mountain pipeline does not have consent from local First Nations including the Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh and faces ongoing opposition by the Secwepemc Tiny House Warriors.”

The petition can be read in full – and signed – here.

This comes just a few weeks after an important vote.

On November 29, 2022, CJCUO and Banking on a Better Future posted on Instagram:

“STUDENT WIN: University of Ottawa Student Union votes to cut ties with RBC! This Saturday, students at the University of Ottawa voted unanimously for the student unions club service to cut ties with RBC, noting ties between RBC, fossil fuel expansion and violations of Indigenous rights. Solidarity with student organizers! RBC off our campuses! No banks on our campuses!”

For more on the Climate Justice Climatique UO (cjcuottawa) on Instagram, click here. More about Decolonial Solidarity – Ottawa Hub on Twitter here.