‘Zombies’ say banks’ fossil-fuel involvement no Halloween treat

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This article was published 31/10/2022 (1127 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Climate activists directed their Halloween anger at one of Canada’s Big Five banks Monday afternoon during a “zombie walk” to protest continued financing of the fossil-fuel industry.

“RBC, RBC, killing you, killing me,” they chanted outside the RBC Royal Bank branch at 220 Portage Ave.

The march, organized by the Manitoba Energy Justice Coalition, demanded some RBC and TD Canada Trust branches close their doors and issued a list of demands that included an end to funding new fossil-fuel expansion and withdrawing financing from projects that don’t have the consent of Indigenous peoples.

“If enough people don’t become aware, there’s going to be an Armageddon or an apocalypse,” said protester Jean Clipsham, 74.

The former nurse said she is spending her retirement advocating for climate change because she is concerned about humanity and her 10-year-old grandson’s future.

RBC had little to say about the demonstration other than: “Standard protocols were followed in regards to this matter.”

The bank has been accused of being Canada’s worst when it comes to financing fossil-fuel exploration and production.

Donovan McIntosh said attending climate-change protests have given him a sense of purpose.

“You need to realize that your individual day-to-day actions and changes do make a difference,” said McIntosh, 19.

The lead organizer of the march, which began at noon at Millennium Library Park, said “the zombies are unstoppable.”

“Another world is possible,” said Steve Heinrichs. “It may not look like it because the messages are so bold, but it’s an act of love. So, with love, and with some spooky costumes, we’re warning the banks of something very, very serious.”

The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report has said humanity has only until 2030 to avert a climate catastrophe.

“It’s the young folks who are going to feel most of the impacts of climate change in the coming decades,” said Allegra Friesen Epp, 26, who spoke at the protest.

Friesen Epp said people who bank with any of the Big Five can move their money to a smaller institution or a credit union to support the cause. And if they do, it’s important to tell someone at the bank why they’re leaving.

“We need to see mass mobilization of people who care and are willing to come out to actions like this, because it’s only by disrupting current systems that they will feel pressure to change,” she said.

fpcity@freepress.mb.ca