In the late sixties, I can remember as a student a number of protest movements on university campuses, one being a campaign by students to increase their voice on university boards and policy bodies. Marches on campus and sit-downs outside administrators’ offices occurred, until eventually student bodies were granted more access to administrative boards. The student initiatives were in line with several active movements which attacked the absolute power of the authorities during this period and expressed a desire for greater decision-making powers and representation by citizens in general. Since then, universities have conceded greater input by student unions and representatives in the operation and administrative policies on campuses across the country.
Frustrated by the slow pace of halting dangerous climate change, in the last few years we have the student divestment effort, demanding that post-secondary institutions across the country fully divest all investment funds from the fossil fuel industry. This movement in Canada has been around for almost a decade. Several major Canadian universities, including the University of Victoria, Carleton University, the University of British Columbia, Laval University, the University of Waterloo and Canada’s largest university, the University of Toronto, have been significantly influenced by the students’ divestment movement. In September 2020, a movement called the Divestment Canada Coalition (DCC) was launched. DCC is made up of 30 groups from institutions across the country, making it Canada’s largest group of students calling for divestment from fossil fuels.
The students’ movement has met with some noteworthy success. In just over a year, at least five schools in Canada pledged to at least partially divest from capital funds primarily comprised of fossil fuels. There have also been pledges to reinvest funds supporting sustainable alternatives and renewable energy. Consideration of environmental, social and governance factors have increasingly become integral to their investment processes. The DCC emphasizes the importance of giving people of colour, low-income people, Indigenous communities and others a seat at the table, given how the fossil fuel industry disproportionately affects these particular groups.
It is encouraging that the students’ divestment effort has generally been met so far with a positive reception by most university administrators, who understand that the issue of climate change is one which has a great deal of potential impact on future generations. Hopefully, as institutions responsible for developing Canada’s future political and business leaders, they will continue to be receptive to this important cause. In order to sustain the effort’s current momentum, they should help to encourage future students who are passionate about divestment to run for their student union board. These institutions owe it to their students, staff and alumni to support this important and inspirational student driven initiative. After all, their futures are in the balance.
FROLITICKS 