Sometimes I get so upset about the tar sands, I just need to pick up the phone and tell someone about it.
In the lead-up to Copenhagen, I was calling the Canadian Prime Minister and other members of parliament. I wanted them to know that they need to make responsible decisions in Copenhagen to ensure that Canada would do its part in addressing the climate crisis, and to do this they would need to shut down our dirtiest industry.
Now, in the lead up to a rally against the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) and their financing of the tar sands—I am calling RBC employees. I want them to know that they need to act responsibly and stop financing the tar sands. Royal Bank of Canada is the top financier of tar sands projects which are making up 95% of Canada’s increase in emissions, violating over 24 aboriginal treaties, causing rates of diseases and cancers to skyrocket in nearby communities, using up local freshwater resources, and destroying the environment.
Do you think all RBC employees know that? I doubt it.
Now, I try to put myself in RBC’s shoes. I pretend I am the largest financial institution in Canada: I serve 17 million clients and employ over 80,000 employees worldwide. I am also the top financier in the Alberta Tar Sands, having put billions of dollars into projects that are destroying the Boreal Forest and putting many communities at risk. Then I think to myself, “Hey! Environmental destruction and human rights violations are a bad thing! I don’t want my millions of clients and employees to know that I do this.”
Then I know what I have to do. I have to put more effort into developing my public relations than actually acting responsibly.
And then I stop pretending. I am no longer a large financial institution, but a concerned individual. A concerned individual with a phone. So I pick up my phone and I call all those people who do not know and especially those people who RBC is trying to keep in the dark. Check out my video, or some of my friends’, and help us call some RBC employees.
This is what we are saying: “Hi there! I just learned that RBC is the top financier in the Alberta tar sands which is destroying the Boreal Forest, our freshwater resources, and communities in Canada. On top of that it is pumping out tons of carbon and greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, thus affecting everyone. People living downstream are suffering from rare cancers and cardiovascular diseases, and this is absolutely unacceptable. As an employee, I really hope that you push RBC to stop financing these dirty projects and to recognize indigenous people’s right to free, prior, and informed consent. Thank you very much for your time.”
I wish that more of the messages left on MY voice mail were educational.
ran.org/tarsands
