CJUBC has been working on two main campaigns this year.

Large inflatable of the CEO of RBC, David McKay with money in his pockets, various Big Oil logos adorning his outfit, and fire at his feet with the hands of climate strikers holding signs. There are also signs taped onto the inflatable that read "Big

Divest from RBC

From 2016-2021, RBC financed:

  • $263 billion in fossil fuels.

  • $50 billion in fossil fuel expansion projects

  • $27 billion in tar sands financing (lead financier alongside TD bank)

Despite past claims about working with its clients to respect Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) by Indigenous Peoples, RBC is financing projects opposed by Indigenous Nations with territorial jurisdiction, including Line 3 and Coastal Gas Link pipelines.

Therefore, we call on the UBC AMS to:

  1. Issue a statement condemning RBC’s lending to fossil fuel projects, including the Coastal Gaslink Pipeline and Trans Mountain Pipeline.

  2. Pass a formal resolution in council committing the Society to to not renew the lease for RBC On Campus upon its expiry in March 2024.

  3. Produce a public report for review by Council investigating options for moving banking and investment accounts to a financial institution with a fossil free lending policy.

Logo for the "Towards a Peoples Endowment" campaign, which consists of two multicoloured hands placed horizontally to each other. They hold space for community connection and represent reinvestment.

Towards a Peoples Endowment Campaign

In the summer of 2021, CJUBC, SFU350, and Divest UVic started the Towards a Peoples Endowment Campaign.

After eight long years of organizing by the students of CJUBC, SFU350 and Divest UVic, all of our universities have now either committed to full divestment or mostly completed divestment. But as we’ve looked at our universities’ investment portfolios, we’ve realized divestment is not enough to bring us to the just and sustainable future we want and need. Fossil-free funds are loaded with banks that lend trillions to fossil fuels, tech companies like Amazon that have been called out for reports of abusive working conditions and tax avoidance, and mining companies that have been linked to murders and assault of land defenders around the world. 

This campaign calls on our universities to move 10% of their respective endowments and working capital funds — totaling more than $500 million — into community investments to support a vibrant and sustainable local economy.