Canadians must unite to fight global warming! This summer wildfires have raged across our land; these fires were fueled by forests made tinder-dry due to the climate crisis.

Canadian fossil fuel companies continue to extract oil and gas at an alarming rate, despite knowing that burning fossil fuels adds to the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This greenhouse gas helps trap heat on our planet, and we have just experienced the hottest days in human history.

A report from a coalition of environmental groups shows that the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) was the biggest fossil fuel financier in the world in 2022, providing over USD$42 billion to subsidize the climate crisis. From the Rainforest Action Network (RAN) report, Banking on Climate Chaos:

“Three Canadian banks are among the top 10 globally in terms of financing the Oil Sands gas sector since the Paris Agreement 2016. According to the data, Scotiabank ranked ninth globally with $29.5 billion US in funding and TD was just behind at about $29billion US, while Bank of Montreal ranked 15 and CIBC 16th at $19.3 billion US and $17.9 billion US respectively. Collectively, the big five Canadian banks doled out almost $140 billion US to the fossil fuel developments last year”. Source: Banking on Climate Chaos report CBC.

The Hamilton 350 subgroup, Elders for Climate Sanity (E4CS), continue to protest the many lenders who prop up the fossil fuel industry. E4CS has been targeting Canada’s five largest banks at several locations: King and James Streets in Hamilton; Centre Mall in Hamilton; Westdale; and Dundas. We also make our presence felt at public events such as Supercrawl, the Festival of Friends, Open Streets on Locke, and so on.

What we do:

• Talk with any bank managers and staff willing to engage with us.
• Hand out leaflets to people on the street, informing them of the issue and why we’re taking these actions.
• Write letters to politicians at every level of government to lobby for a safer, cleaner environment by transitioning to green energy

What we ask:

• Start talking Climate with your bank today.
• Ask your bank to stop lending to tar sands projects, fracking, pipelines, and other fossil fuel extraction industries.
• Lobby governments, corporations and pension funds to redirect funding towards renewable energy projects for a livable future for our kids.

What you can do:

• Move your money to a credit union that invests locally and gives you a say.
• Tell your bank why you are switching.
• Write to a bank official such as RBC’s CEO, David McKay, Royal Bank of Canada, 200 Bay St. Toronto ON M5J 2W7.

Unfortunately, our Canadian Pension Plan also helps support the fossil fuel industry. Recently, we’ve also been handing out a postcard addressed to the President and CEO of the Canada Pension Plan and Investment Board asking then to “Stop funding the climate crisis!”

Please join us at our events. The more people who take part, the stronger the message!’