By: Aditi Dwivedi, News Writer

Editor’s note: Chloë Arneson, who was interviewed for this piece, is a former Peak employee. The Peak acknowledges and has taken steps to prevent conflicts of interest or potential bias from influencing the article. 

On March 1, SFU350 organized a sit-in in the Student Union Building at the SFU Burnaby campus. They were calling for the SFSS to divest from Scotiabank. The non-violent protest was, however, put to a stop by SFSS staff, citing they did not obtain permission to host the sit-in.

SFU350 is a student-led club that promotes divesting from fossil fuels. They called for the SFSS to “cut their ties” from Scotiabank, the second largest funder of fossil fuel projects in Canada. The sit-in was organized in tandem with Banking On A Better Future, a non-profit organization that mobilizes youth climate justice activists to address financial support for fossil fuel projects. 

Representatives from the SFU350 called on SFU students to sign their open letter. The letter was addressed to the SFSS during their peaceful sit-in. After the SFSS staff shut down their sit-in, SFU350 later released a statement condemning the actions of the SFSS for curbing their right to protest. They noted, “Protests don’t involve booking space. They involve taking up space.” 

In an interview with The Peak, executives of SFU350, Jaden Dyer, Natasha Ivkov, and Maryam Shakeri talked about their efforts to help the SFU community divest from fossil fuels. 

According to Dyer, “The SFSS purports to represent students and their interests, but is using our money to support the banks’ fossil fuel lending. So it’s our role to hold them accountable as students.”

Dyer explained the sit-in on March 1 was organized at the same time as other sit-ins by climate justice groups from universities across Canada, like University of Alberta, University of Toronto, and University of British Columbia. They all pressued their student unions and universities to switch banks and educate them on the roles that big banks — RBC, CIBC, and Scotiabank — play in funding fossil fuel projects. 

Ivkov discussed the SFSS response to their demands. According to her, their response can be summed up as “a tentative yes,” and that the SFSS “have expressed interest in investing in renewables and investing in credit unions instead of banking with Scotiabank in the future.” She added that SFU350 understands the divestment, if it occurs, would be a slow process since the SFSS has “ties to Scotiabank that they have to abide by.” 

Addressing the protest on March 1, they said, “The problem we encountered with the SFSS was not exactly about the topic and our demands for the sit-in but more, the logistics of it.” According to the SFSS, a prior booking needs to be obtained to host an event in the Student Union Building. Ivkov however, called their actions “unjustified,” stating the difference between events and protests. She added the purpose of the sit-in is to “have a spontaneous demonstration that is not booked in advance.”

Since then, the SFSS executive committee has released a public apology letter in solidarity of the cause upheld by SFU350, acknowledging the “lapse in judgment” on their end, and reaffirming their support of the freedom to protest. The statement also noted, “We want to acknowledge that many of the members of SFU350 belong to racialized groups and thus experienced further harm due to racial disparities in policing and security. We take concerns about discrimination very seriously and are taking internal action to discuss this factor further with our staff.”

Additionally, according to a statement given to The Peak by Chloë Arneson, acting vice-president of university and academic affairs, “The concerns about our relationship with Scotiabank align with our Issues Policies and also reflect the broader societal change that is happening right now [ . . . ] We are an organization that handles a lot of money and it’s critical to consider the impact of how we are managing that money.”

Arneson added, “I don’t want our organization to be unwelcome to change or criticism. I want SFU350 and any other students with concerns to know that my doors are always open if they have concerns regarding the SFSS.”

Find out more information about divestment from fossil fuels on SFU350’s website. Sign the open letter calling for the SFSS to stop banking with fossil funders on Action Network’s website.