The University of Guelph (U of G) has deferred a decision to divest from fossil fuels after over 100 students, led by the Fossil Free Guelph group, protested at a school Board of Governors meeting.
Following the lengthy discussion during a Jan. 23 meeting, the Board of Governors decided it needed further research and additional time for reflection before proceeding, Lori Bona Hunt, the U of G’s director of media relations, said in an email.
According to the university website, the university makes investments to “provide a permanent source of funding by investing the principal amount of the initial capital and making a portion of the total investment return available for spending.”
However, the Fossil Free Guelph group wants the school to divest from the fossil fuel companies it currently holds shares in.
The group made a Special Action Request last April to the Board of Governors which includes freezing investments and reaching full divestment in five years, according to Hunt.
As a result, the board created an ad hoc committee for the request.
Spencer McGregor, a Fossil Free Guelph member, said fossil fuel investment opposes Guelph’s image as a green and environment-friendly school.
“It’s hypocritical,” he said. “For us, the students, we’re saying, we want the university to align their investments with what their supposed values are.”
He said the main goal of divestment is to show the companies no longer have “the social license they need to operate.”
However, while Hunt said the school has given Fossil Free Guelph the opportunity to present their case, McGregor said the school doesn’t listen to students as much as they should.
He noted a Guelph Student Association referendum where 72 per cent of students voted for divestment.
“They’ve never officially recognized that. They never mention it. They don’t talk about it.,” he added. “But to me, it seems like if the students are demanding something, it’s the role of the university to make it happen.”
McGregor said the divestment is more symbolic than practical because shares that are not bought by the U of G, will likely be bought by another institution.
He added, “For them to come back and say ‘we need more time’ is a little bit disappointing, but at the same time, we’re glad they didn’t just say ‘no.’ ”
After both the university’s ad hoc and finance committees voted against divestment, the decision was brought to the Board of Governors.
“The fact that it had gone past two different committees made it seem likely they were going to vote no,” McGregor said.
The decision has been deferred to an unknown later date, and the Board’s finance committee will discuss the issues from the Jan. 23 meeting, according to Hunt.
However, the calls for divestment at the U of G is not something new.
The divestment movement at the U of G started four years ago, when student Matthew Campbell submitted a freedom of information request on fossil fuel investment, according to McGregor.
According to the CBC, the U of G is currently investing in 50 fossil fuels companies and invests approximately $33 million annually.
“Getting those numbers was the first stage of it and once people had that information, a group of students got together and it was when the divestment movement kind of globally was starting out and was growing,” McGregor said.
“Young people especially really see the risk of climate change,” McGregor said of the group’s rise in status. “I think young people realize that it’s going to be us that will be living in the world. It’s become more of a topic that people are willing to act on.”
In March 2017, the Carleton University Academic Staff Association (CUASA), passed a motion at their council meeting to divest their pension funds from fossil fuels.
The push for the divestment was made by the Carleton Fossil Free Faculty, which is a special interest group within CUASA made up of 55 tenured professors from about 20 different faculties.
Lenore Fahrig, a Carleton professor and CUASA member, told the Charlatan at the time that this is important if Carleton wants to more effectively combat climate change.
However, Carleton is not the first post-secondary institution in Canada to divest from fossil fuels.
In February 2017, Quebec City’s Université Laval became the first Canadian university to divest from fossil fuel companies.
Photo by Graham Swaney
