Speaking Truth to Power

Written By Haley Kootenhayoo

In early April, a powerful Indigenous delegation travelled to Tkaronto to call out the financiers of pipelines, like Coastal GasLink, for destroying their lands and desecrating their rights. The delegation consisted of hereditary leadership, land defenders, and youth from the Wet’suwet’en and Gitxsan Nations in Northern B.C., with support from national climate and Indigenous-led organizations, such as Indigenous Climate Action (ICA), Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC), Stand.earth and Change Course.

Building Our Own Seat at the Table

At the end of each “fiscal” year, financial institutions and their shareholders come together to review annual reports and propose resolutions that get voted on during their Annual General Meetings (AGMs) - resolutions that impact climate commitments, executive’s compensation, and financial transparency. These events have proven to be a powerful opportunity for Indigenous people to assert our sovereignty directly in spaces where decisions have historically been made about our lands and waterways without our faces anywhere in sight. 

This was the fourth year a delegation attended the Royal Bank of Canada’s (RBC) AGM, and the first year attending the Bank of Montreal’s (BMO) AGM – two banks that rank among the top 20 funders of fossil fuel projects in the world, according to the Banking on Climate Chaos report. In a country that relies on Indigenous subjugation, it is no surprise that Indigenous people are excluded from a seat at the table of industry and decision-making spaces like major bank AGMs. This is not only by original design, it is also actively upheld through bureaucratic barriers and physical enforcement.

Over the years, the delegation has had to fight to build a seat at the table, while often facing violence and racial segregation. In 2023, Indigenous and other racialized delegates were placed in a room separate from RBC executives - a process physically enforced by police, security and a color-coded pass system. While it may seem shocking to hear, it really is on brand for RBC who funds projects that brutalize land defenders through the use of the BC Critical Response Unit (BC-CRU), formerly known as the Community-Industry Response Group (C-IRG), and had civilians report seeing SNIPERS on the roof of their building during the 2023 AGM.

Banks, like RBC and BMO, further perpetuate Indigenous rights and human rights violations by funding extractive projects, like Coastal GasLink (CGL), and the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission (PRGT), that do not have the consent of Hereditary Chiefs who are the actual title holders in territories where these projects are unlawfully taking place. Further, governments and industry officials often [likely intentionally] confuse the consultation of colonially elected band nations with Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) - a right that is guaranteed to Indigenous people under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). This redwashing attempt seeks to actualize Indigenous peoples’ presence as shareholders in industry, and not as rightsholders to the land. 

Policing, infringing on Indigenous rights, human rights violations, redwashing, greenwashing -  when industry and government shows you who they are, believe them. Here we are in 2025 and RBC just dropped their sustainable finance goals. Again and again, colonial institutions show us they care nothing of the land, the people, or our collective future.

Credit: @Joshuabest

Breaking Down Bay Street

While this delegation was on the ground in Tkaronto, partners and allies organized events throughout the week to further disrupt narratives that uphold colonial violence over Indigenous lands and bodies. This week kicked off with a Toxic Tour of Financiers, where the delegation went on a walk along Bay Street, sometimes known as the “Canadian Wall Street,” and held flash rallies at the headquarters of major financial institutions. There was also a rally outside of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) Symposium, a space where the Canadian energy industry meets with funders and trading partners. 

With our home fires in mind, ICA staff also piloted a workshop about Indigenous-led divestment strategies and held a sharing circle to learn from frontline communities like the Wet’suwet’en and Gitxsan Nations. Between Toxic Tours, institutional meetings and rallies, there were also community dinners and land gatherings to build relationships and show solidarity with our kin who are resisting the same forces of colonialism both near and far. Whether we were on a Toxic Tour, in Etobicoke for the RBC AGM, or on the land, our message to Bay Street was the same: divest from projects that violate Indigenous rights and respect the Free, Prior and Informed Consent of Indigenous Nations globally.

“You have our lives in your hands. You have future generations’ lives in your hands right now. When there is no more water, when parts of the world go uninhabitable, there’s going to be more war. You really gotta think about it. We do not have any more time. We are fighting for the world, we’re not just thinking about our people. So be leaders.”
— Eve Saint

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About the Author

Willo Prince is Carrier Dakelh from Nak’azdli Whut’en in Northern B.C., and they currently work as the Education Coordinator with Indigenous Climate Action.

Haley Kootenhayoo
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Statement: 2025 Federal Election