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<DIV><FONT face=Arial>There is such a thing as fudiciary responsibility.
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>When I invest in a liquor or tobacco company I do not want
them donating money to the campaigne to stop smoking or banning tobacco and
liquor. If I did I would invest in another type of company. The
ethical company for instance, but is looses a lot of money.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>The same thing is true for any other company that does and
promotes one thing then turns and takes my money and runs off in some other
direction. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>I INVEST IN A CERTAIN COMPANY FOR ONE REASON
ONLY...</FONT><FONT face="Arial Black" size=4><STRONG>THAT IS TO MAKE
MONEY!</STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT face="Arial Black" size=4></FONT></STRONG> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>If I can be morally and ethically grounded in
the process that is good too, but not at the expense of my investment.
<STRONG><FONT face="Arial Black" size=4>TO MAKE
MONEY!</FONT></STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>This is usually an indication that the banks have more
money than what they need and they do not want to give it back to the
shareholders. Even in this, recession, depression, economic downturn, or
what ever you may call it the banks are still making lots of money. Life
is good, their shareholders must be happy and the over charging the banks do has
been under estimated again so they have money to give away.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>I suspect this is a slush fund, only understood by those
in high finance. It is probably similar to our money going to GM and
Chrysler and other select dead beats. In any event those who will get the
money will be in a position to return something, worth more than the money, back
to the banks. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Black" size=4><STRONG>The banks are not
philanthropic!</STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Can anyone tell me what Environmental Progress
means? (ie. more than 21% oxygen in the atmosphere? It only
rains in the night time? the wind is always against your back?
political double talk?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=sustainab@hotmail.com href="mailto:sustainab@hotmail.com">Peter
Kofler</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=butterflybluelu@rogers.com
href="mailto:butterflybluelu@rogers.com">Louisette Lanteigne</A> ; <A
title=all@gren.ca href="mailto:all@gren.ca">all@gren.ca</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, November 03, 2009 12:23
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [All] Fw: GRCA News: Grant
from RBC will help rural property owners protect water quality</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>You've got to be kidding me. I realize it's important to look
at the positive aspects of what powerful players like the banks are
doing, but it's also important to put things into perspective and realize 1)
what represents balance; 2) how ridiculously, unacceptably far RBC
and most of the other banks are from that and 3) what amounts to little more
than clever PR, all the while maintaining status quo. <BR> <BR>To put it
into mathematical perspective, RBC's net surplus funding of fossil fuels
(total fossil fuel funding less total renewables funding) of CDN$14.2
billion is about 284 times more than their CDN$50 million investment
in the blue water project (of which they've apparently only released
CDN$9.5 million so far).<BR> <BR>It would be as if I gave you a $1000
cash donation - and then sauntered over to Activa's local
headquarters and gave them $284000, with the understanding that they
would only spend it directly on ruining water quality and supply and
ecosystem health. <BR> <BR>I'm sorry, but putting positive spin
on this story in RBC's favour borders on the implausible. What it tells me is
that at present they have very little intention of becoming good
corporate environmental citizens in substance - mainly in appearance.
When <STRONG>real</STRONG> things like livable climate and environment are at
stake here - appearance doesn't count for much. <BR> <BR>I think the
attached articles speak eloquently to this. <BR> <BR>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><A
href="http://joshuakahnrussell.wordpress.com/2009/04/02/toronto-activists-award-rbc-fossil-fool-of-the-year-for-tar-sands-financing/"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"
size=3>http://joshuakahnrussell.wordpress.com/2009/04/02/toronto-activists-award-rbc-fossil-fool-of-the-year-for-tar-sands-financing/</FONT></A></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<H3 style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 4.2pt"><SPAN lang=EN
style="mso-ansi-language: EN"><o:p><FONT
face=Helvetica> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></H3>
<H3 style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 4.2pt"><SPAN lang=EN
style="mso-ansi-language: EN"><FONT
face=Helvetica>http://www.tarsandswatch.org/banks-add-tonnes-carbon-footprint-study-says<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></H3>
<H3 style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 4.2pt"><SPAN lang=EN
style="mso-ansi-language: EN"><o:p><FONT
face=Helvetica> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></H3>
<H3 style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 4.2pt"><SPAN lang=EN
style="mso-ansi-language: EN"><FONT face=Helvetica>Banks add tonnes to carbon
footprint, study says<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></H3>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 12pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 16.8pt"><STRONG><SPAN
lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN">Posted:
</SPAN></STRONG><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN">November
20, 2008 <BR><STRONG><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Section:</SPAN></STRONG>
Global Warming<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 6pt 6pt 13.2pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 18pt"><SPAN
lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN">Hanneke
Brooymans, November 20, 2008, The Edmonton Journal -- Canada's five largest
banks financed emissions of 624 million tonnes of carbon dioxide last year in
the form of oil, gas and coal operations, a new study
says.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 6pt 6pt 13.2pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 18pt"><SPAN
lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN">To
put this in context, Canada's greenhouse gas emissions from all energy use
across the country -- including all power plants, industry and manufacturing,
transportation, homes and offices -- totalled 583 million tonnes of CO2 in
2006, says the report, written by the Rainforest Action
Network.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 6pt 6pt 13.2pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 18pt"><SPAN
lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN">There
is some overlap in those two numbers, but not all fossil fuels produced in the
country are burned here. In total, 721 million tonnes of greenhouse gases were
released in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Canada</st1:place></st1:country-region> in
2006.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 6pt 6pt 13.2pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 18pt"><SPAN
lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN">The
network is particularly concerned about oilsands development, because if all
the projected investments go through, greenhouse gas emissions from that
sector would double by 2012, negating <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Canada</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s reduction targets for
green-house gas emissions under the Kyoto Protocol.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 6pt 6pt 13.2pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 18pt"><SPAN
lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN">"Banks
play a very key role in the process of addressing climate change as financiers
of both the drivers of climate change -- fossil fuels -- and also the
financiers of clean energy and other low carbon solutions we're going to need
to address the climate crisis," said Bill Barclay, lead author of Financing
Global Warming: Canadian Banks and Fossil Fuels. (The full report is available
at <A title=www.climatefriendlybanking.org/bankreport
href="http://www.climatefriendlybanking.org/bankreport"><SPAN
style="COLOR: #9f2a22">www.climatefriendlybanking.org/bankreport</SPAN></A>.)<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 6pt 6pt 13.2pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 18pt"><SPAN
lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN">While
banks often track and report the carbon emissions associated with running
their offices and staff travels, such "operational emissions" are dwarfed by
the volume of climate-changing emissions that result from the projects they
finance, so-called "financed emissions," says the
report.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 6pt 6pt 13.2pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 18pt"><SPAN
lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN">The
decisions these top banks make greatly impact the trajectory of the country's
future greenhouse gas emissions.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 6pt 6pt 13.2pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 18pt"><SPAN
lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN">"The
resistance of banks to address the climate impacts of their financing
jeopardizes the climate, the economy, and public health," the report goes on
to say.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 6pt 6pt 13.2pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 18pt"><SPAN
lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN">The
banks in question are RBC, TD Bank, Scotiabank, CIBC and BMO. The report also
looks at the practices of Desjardins and Vancity.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 6pt 6pt 13.2pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 18pt"><SPAN
lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN">RBC
was listed as the bank with the most financing of fossil fuel
projects.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 6pt 6pt 13.2pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 18pt"><SPAN
lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN">"We
agree climate change is a really important global challenge," said Stephanie
Lu, an RBC spokeswoman, "and we've been doing a lot for some time to do our
part." She said RBC requires project proponents to conduct a comprehensive
social and environmental review of the impacts of projects as a condition of
financing.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 6pt 6pt 13.2pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 18pt"><SPAN
lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN">"We
actually are building our portfolio to support renewable energy and clean
technology," Lu said. "We provide investment banking, financing and advisory
services to clients in the renewable energy sector, including wind farms,
hydro-electric power and biomass installations."<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 6pt 6pt 13.2pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 18pt"><SPAN
lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN">She
said RBC practises a high level of due diligence to identify, assess and help
lessen the environmental risks associated with lending to their
clients.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 6pt 6pt 13.2pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 18pt"><SPAN
lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN">Still,
Barclay noted fossil-fuel projects received 14 times more money than renewable
energy projects.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 6pt 6pt 13.2pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 18pt"><SPAN
lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN">"These
ratios will have to shift dramatically as we fight climate change," he
said.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 6pt 6pt 13.2pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 18pt"><SPAN
lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN">Individuals
can help, too. A person's choice of bank can have a large impact on their
personal carbon footprint, Barclay said. Banks leverage every dollar deposited
into $10 to $15 of new lending. Deposit accounts held in any of the top five
high-carbon banks have carbon footprints ranging from 970 to 1,430 kilograms
larger per $10,000 than a deposit account held in Vancity, the lowest carbon
bank, and 25 to 38 times larger than Desjardins, the second-lowest-carbon
bank.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 6pt 6pt 13.2pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 18pt"><SPAN
lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN">Joseph
Doucet doesn't think this information will influence people to move their
accounts. "People don't change their bank accounts too often," said Doucet, a
professor of energy and economic policy in the <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">School</st1:PlaceType> of <st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Business</st1:PlaceName> at the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">University</st1:PlaceType> of <st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Alberta</st1:PlaceName></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 6pt 6pt 13.2pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 18pt"><SPAN
lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN">There
aren't a lot of banking options in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Canada</st1:place></st1:country-region> and it can be complicated
and time-consuming to move routine transactions, like direct deposits and
payments, between accounts, he said.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 6pt 6pt 13.2pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 18pt"><SPAN
lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN">Doucet
also thinks the Rainforest Action Network is focusing its attention on the
wrong player.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 6pt 6pt 13.2pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 18pt"><SPAN
lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN">"The
banks aren't project developers," he said. "The banks are there with suitcases
of cash and they wait for someone to come to them with project
proposals."<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 6pt 6pt 13.2pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 18pt"><SPAN
lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN">BY
THE NUMBERS<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 6pt 6pt 13.2pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 18pt"><SPAN
lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN">-
Direct fossil fuels funding: RBC $15.9 billion; TD $7.9 billion; Scotiabank
$12 billion; BMO $10.2 billion; CIBC $9.2 billion; Desjardins $0.23 billion;
Vancity $0<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 6pt 6pt 13.2pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 18pt"><SPAN
lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN">-
Direct renewable energy funding: RBC $1.7 billion; TD $0.8 billion; Scotiabank
$1.5 billion; BMO $0.7 billion; CIBC $2.1 billion; Desjardins $0.01 billion;
Vancity $0<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 6pt 6pt 13.2pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 18pt"><SPAN
lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN">-
Total financed carbon dioxide as percentage of <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Canada</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s total
energy emissions: RBC 34 per cent; TD 21 per cent; Scotiabank 15 per cent; BMO
17 per cent; CIBC 17 per cent; Desjardins three per cent; Vancity less than
0.1 per cent<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 8.35pt 4.2pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; mso-outline-level: 3"><B><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 18pt; COLOR: #333333; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Helvetica"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 8.35pt 4.2pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; mso-outline-level: 3"><B><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 18pt; COLOR: #333333; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Helvetica">http://understory.ran.org/2009/09/24/gord-nixon-off-balance/#more-4039<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 8.35pt 4.2pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; mso-outline-level: 3"><B><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 18pt; COLOR: #333333; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Helvetica"><A
title="Permanent Link to Gord Nixon: Off Balance"
href="http://understory.ran.org/2009/09/24/gord-nixon-off-balance/"><SPAN
style="COLOR: #669933; TEXT-DECORATION: none; text-underline: none">Gord
Nixon: Off Balance</SPAN></A><o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 4.2pt 4.2pt 12.55pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #333333; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Helvetica">posted
by Brant in <A title="View all posts in Freedom from Oil"
href="http://understory.ran.org/category/zero-emissions/"><SPAN
style="COLOR: #669933; TEXT-DECORATION: none; text-underline: none">Freedom
from Oil</SPAN></A>, <A title="View all posts in RAN General"
href="http://understory.ran.org/category/ran/"><SPAN
style="COLOR: #669933; TEXT-DECORATION: none; text-underline: none">RAN
General</SPAN></A> on September 24th, 2009<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 4.2pt 4.2pt 12.55pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #333333; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Helvetica"><A
href="http://beta.images.theglobeandmail.com/archive/00003/GordNixonRBCroyalb_3249artw.jpg"></A></SPAN><v:shapetype
id=_x0000_t75 coordsize="21600,21600" o:spt="75" o:preferrelative="t"
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alt="Photo Credit: Globe and Mail" o:allowoverlap="f" o:button="t"
type="#_x0000_t75"
href="http://beta.images.theglobeandmail.com/archive/00003/GordNixonRBCroyalb_3249artw.jpg"><v:imagedata
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type="square"></w:wrap></v:shape><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #333333; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Helvetica; mso-no-proof: yes"><A
href="http://beta.images.theglobeandmail.com/archive/00003/GordNixonRBCroyalb_3249artw.jpg"></A></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #333333; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Helvetica"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 4.2pt 4.2pt 12.55pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #333333; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Helvetica">RBC
CEO Gord Nixon should be putting his bank’s money where his mouth is. Last
week, he offered an incoherent defense of RBC’s “<A
href="http://www.thestar.com/business/article/696510"><SPAN
style="COLOR: #669933; TEXT-DECORATION: none; text-underline: none">balanced
approach</SPAN></A>” to the environment after RAN activists confronted him on
the bank’s financial support for expansion of <A
href="http://ran.org/tarsands"><SPAN
style="COLOR: #669933; TEXT-DECORATION: none; text-underline: none">Canada’s
tar sands</SPAN></A>.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 4.2pt 4.2pt 12.55pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #333333; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Helvetica">Recognizing
his stumble, Nelson hit the papers this week to explain. “You can’t
over-emphasize the environment at huge cost to the economy” <A
href="http://www.nationalpost.com/related/topics/story.html?id=1993916"><SPAN
style="COLOR: #669933; TEXT-DECORATION: none; text-underline: none">Nixon told
the National Post</SPAN></A>, “and at the same time you cannot do things
economically that are a huge cost to the environment.”<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 4.2pt 4.2pt 12.55pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #333333; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Helvetica">Below
the surface, though, RBC’s “balanced approach” is anything but.<SPAN
id=more-4039></SPAN> Nixon clarifies that the Bank’s environmental commitment
“…doesn’t mean you can’t lend to someone in the oil sands.” In fact, with more
than <A
href="http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=tPdRqVceNfihWH-0tL2qVVQ&single=true&gid=1&output=html"><SPAN
style="COLOR: #669933; TEXT-DECORATION: none; text-underline: none">$14.3
billion (USD)</SPAN></A> in credit extended since to the sector 2007, nobody
lends more to oil sands companies than RBC.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 4.2pt 4.2pt 12.55pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #333333; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Helvetica">Compare
this with RBC’s environmental commitments. Nixon points to RBC’s Blue Water
Project<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 4.2pt 4.2pt 12.55pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #333333; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Helvetica">“…which,
at $50-million, is the biggest philanthropic project for the bank. It is
dedicated towards water initiatives in the world from financings that impact
wetlands to financing clean-water projects or drilling wells in
<st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Nicaragua</st1:place></st1:country-region>. We try to do our
part.”<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 4.2pt 4.2pt 12.55pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #333333; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Helvetica">Look
under the hood, though, and The Blue Water Project looks more like a public
relations project. Three years since its launch, the bank has issued just $9.5
million in grants. During the same time period, RBC earned more than <A
href="http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=tPdRqVceNfihWH-0tL2qVVQ&single=true&gid=0&output=html"><SPAN
style="COLOR: #669933; TEXT-DECORATION: none; text-underline: none">$84
million (USD)</SPAN></A> in underwriting fees from tar sands companies. How’s
that for balance?<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 4.2pt 4.2pt 12.55pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #333333; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Helvetica">If
Nixon were serious about sustainability, he would recognize that the tar sands
need to be stopped. That was the recommendation <A
href="http://www.montrealgazette.com/business/Canada%20failing%20fight%20against%20climate%20change%20panel%20says/2016158/story.html"><SPAN
style="COLOR: #669933; TEXT-DECORATION: none; text-underline: none">earlier
this week</SPAN></A> from Rajendra Pachauri, head of the UN’s
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. French Bank <A
href="http://www.dexia.com/docs/2008/2008_news/20081110_Energy_sector_guidelines_UK.pdf"
modo="false"><SPAN
style="COLOR: #669933; TEXT-DECORATION: none; text-underline: none">Dexia
</SPAN></A>and the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">UK</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s<A
href="http://www.goodwithmoney.co.uk/ethical-banking/"><SPAN
style="COLOR: #669933; TEXT-DECORATION: none; text-underline: none"> Co-Op
Bank</SPAN></A> have both established policies that maintain shareholder
returns while effectively prohibiting any lending to tar sands companies. RBC
should seek a similar balance.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 4.2pt 4.2pt 12.55pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #333333; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Helvetica"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 4.2pt 4.2pt 12.55pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #333333; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Helvetica"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 4.2pt 4.2pt 12.55pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #333333; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Helvetica">http://www.indigenousportal.com/Climate-Change/Mrs.-Nixon-please-help-us-stop-the-tar-sands.html<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<TABLE class=MsoNormalTable
style="MARGIN: auto auto auto -42.75pt; WIDTH: 109.78%; mso-cellspacing: 1.5pt"
cellPadding=0 width="109%" border=0>
<TBODY>
<TR
style="mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes"><TD
style="BORDER-RIGHT: #f0f0f0; PADDING-RIGHT: 0.75pt; BORDER-TOP: #f0f0f0; PADDING-LEFT: 0.75pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0.75pt; BORDER-LEFT: #f0f0f0; WIDTH: 89.82%; PADDING-TOP: 0.75pt; BORDER-BOTTOM: #f0f0f0; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent"
width="89%">
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><B><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 16pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Cambria; LETTER-SPACING: 0.85pt">Mrs.
Nixon, please help us</SPAN></B><B><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 33pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Cambria; LETTER-SPACING: 0.85pt">
</SPAN></B><B><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 16pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Cambria; LETTER-SPACING: 0.85pt">stop
the tar sands</SPAN></B><B><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 33pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Cambria; LETTER-SPACING: 0.85pt">
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B><BR></P></TD>
<TD
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width="2%">
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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN
style="DISPLAY: none; COLOR: #333333; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; mso-hide: all"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
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cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0>
<TBODY>
<TR style="mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-firstrow: yes">
<TD
style="BORDER-RIGHT: #f0f0f0; PADDING-RIGHT: 0.75pt; BORDER-TOP: #f0f0f0; PADDING-LEFT: 0.75pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0.75pt; BORDER-LEFT: #f0f0f0; PADDING-TOP: 0.75pt; BORDER-BOTTOM: #f0f0f0; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent"
vAlign=top>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 4.2pt 0cm 8.35pt"><SPAN
style="TEXT-TRANSFORM: uppercase; COLOR: #999999; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; LETTER-SPACING: 0.85pt">Thursday,
06 August 2009 <o:p></o:p></SPAN><BR></P></TD></TR>
<TR style="mso-yfti-irow: 1; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes">
<TD
style="BORDER-RIGHT: #f0f0f0; PADDING-RIGHT: 0.75pt; BORDER-TOP: #f0f0f0; PADDING-LEFT: 0.75pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0.75pt; BORDER-LEFT: #f0f0f0; PADDING-TOP: 0.75pt; BORDER-BOTTOM: #f0f0f0; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent"
vAlign=top>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN
style="COLOR: black"><FONT face="Times New Roman">Published by Joshua
Kahn Russell<BR>July 28th, 2009<BR><BR>During rush-hour commute this
morning, two Indigenous Canadian women – Eriel Tchekwie Deranger, and
Heather Milton-Lightening – scaled flagpoles in front of the main
entrance of Royal Bank of Canada’s (RBC’s) headquarters in Toronto,
dropping a banner reading “Please Help Us Mrs. Nixon.com” – appealing to
the bank to pull its massive investments in Alberta tar sands
projects.</FONT></SPAN><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">
</SPAN><SPAN style="COLOR: black"><FONT face="Times New Roman">Supported
by RAN, the Ruckus Society, and their Indigenous People’s Power Project,
they were joined by dozens of Toronto RAN activists, swarming entrances
to ensure every RBC employee heard our appeal Mrs. Janet Nixon, the wife
of RBC CEO Gordon Nixon, to lend her strong and influential voice to
those fighting to protect Canada’s clean water and respect Indigenous
rights by pushing RBC to stop bankrolling the tar sands. They handed out
flyers, held banners, and even circled the building on bikes with
“Please Help Us Mrs. Nixon.com” flags.<BR><BR>RBC is the ATM of the Tar
Sands.<BR><BR>They are a leading investor in what has been called the
dirtiest project on Earth and is one of the greatest social and
ecological injustices of our time. Unless they’re stopped by grassroots
pressure, oil companies will transform a boreal forest the size of
Florida into an industrial sacrifice zone – complete with lakes full of
toxic waste that are so big that you can see them from outer space. Tar
sands projects poison First Nations Communities, pollute precious water
resources, kill wildlife, and are the single biggest contributor to
global warming from <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Canada</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<BR><BR>At the same
time as the banner was being unfurled, thousands of RAN supporters and
allies began emailing a video to key RBC executives – in which RAN’s
Michael Brune appeals to Mrs. Nixon to help RBC offer leadership by
withdrawing its funding for the tar sands. (If you haven’t participated
in this online action yet, it’s not too late! You can view the video at
www.PleaseHelpUsMrsNixon.com and take action when you're done
watching.)<BR><BR>The banner was up for over two hours, and a large
crowd of people gathered to watch. Several RBC executives also joined
us, watching in embarrassment. In the end, the police let the two
climbers go without making any arrests; the climbers were given
citations.<BR><BR>This action is also the culmination of a month-long
guerrilla wheatpasting campaign by RAN Toronto, who have covered the
city with hundreds of posters bearing the message “Please Help Us Mrs.
Nixon” – leaving people in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Toronto</st1:place></st1:City> wondering what these posters
are all about. (But in case Janet Nixon herself was unsure who she was
being asked to help, we had a letter from RAN delivered to her home
address yesterday.)<BR><BR>While Janet Nixon is the wife of RBC’s CEO,
we are appealing her today because she is also a committed
environmentalist, and has been instrumental in shaping RBC’s Blue Water
Project. But while pledging $50 million to help fight water pollution
over the next ten years, RBC has loaned $2.3 billion to tar sands
companies in the last two years alone.<BR><BR>We stand at a cross roads.
Does RBC want to help lead our country by investing in clean renewable
energy? Or continue to scrape the bottom of the barrel of dirty oil at a
cost far too high? Tar sands oil expansion is devastating the regional
environment, contaminating <st1:country-region
w:st="on">Canada</st1:country-region>’s precious water supply,
endangering wildlife, threatening First Nations’ health and preventing
<st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Canada</st1:place></st1:country-region> from meeting its
climate commitments. Indigenous First Nations communities downstream
have experienced polluted water, water reductions in rivers and
aquifers, increased cancer, and declines in wildlife population that
threaten to destroy their traditional ways of life.<BR><BR>RBC has a
critical role to play in investing in <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Canada</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s
clean energy future. RBC must require clients to provide evidence of
free, prior and informed consent from First Nations on projects
affecting their communities, as the first step of a phase-out of
financing and advisory services to all tar sands projects which have
adverse impacts on the environment. The bank must develop an action plan
to reduce ‘financed emissions’ related to all lending activities that
impact the climate.<BR><BR>We know that Mrs. Nixon cares deeply about
clean water, and so we’re appealing directly to her to help us push RBC
to make a meaningful commitment to clean water, by ending its financing
of the tar sands – rather than giving fistfuls of cash to Big Oil’s
dirtiest project ever, while donating its spare change to clean water
projects.<BR><BR>Mrs. Nixon, will you help us? (And Mr. Nixon: if you
want to help us stop the tar sands too, there’s no need to wait for your
wife to take the
lead.)<BR>__________________________<BR>www.itsgettinghotinhere.org</FONT></SPAN><SPAN
style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<P></P>
<HR id=stopSpelling>
Date: Mon, 2 Nov 2009 18:05:51 -0800<BR>From:
butterflybluelu@rogers.com<BR>To: all@gren.ca<BR>Subject: [All] Fw: GRCA News:
Grant from RBC will help rural property owners protect water quality<BR><BR>
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0>
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD vAlign=top>
<DIV>Hi folks</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Even though RBC is the main finance company of the Alberta Tar
Sands, it's good to see efforts made to help water at this end of the
world.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Lulu :0)</DIV>
<DIV><BR>--- On <B>Mon, 11/2/09, Dave Schultz
<I><dschultz@grandriver.ca></I></B> wrote:<BR></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(16,16,255) 2px solid"><BR>From:
Dave Schultz <dschultz@grandriver.ca><BR>Subject: GRCA News:
Grant from RBC will help rural property owners protect water
quality<BR>To: <BR>Received: Monday, November 2, 2009, 9:39 AM<BR><BR>
<DIV id=ecxyiv1230824752>
<STYLE>
.ExternalClass #ecxyiv1230824752 .ecxEmailQuote
{margin-left:1pt;padding-left:4pt;border-left:#800000 2px solid;}
</STYLE>
<FONT face="Times New Roman, serif" size=2>
<DIV style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><IMG
src="cid:A4653582D2C442BFBD34221A42C0F73A@ayd1724"> <IMG
src="cid:406A890D958A4072BABFF2AC1688E8F6@ayd1724"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><FONT
size=5><I><B>Grand River Conservation Authority<BR></B></I><U><B>News
Release</B></U></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3pt; TEXT-INDENT: 14pt"> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3><B>Monday, Nov. 2, 2009</B></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3><B>Release ON RECEIPT</B></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3pt; TEXT-INDENT: 14pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 6pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><FONT
size=5><B>Grant from RBC will help rural property owners protect water
quality</B></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3pt; TEXT-INDENT: 14pt">The Grand River
Conservation Authority is expanding its programs for rural property
owners, thanks to a $100,000 grant from the RBC Blue Water Project to
the Grand River Conservation Foundation. </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3pt; TEXT-INDENT: 14pt">The RBC Leadership
Grant will help the GRCA provide advice to rural landowners – both
farm and non-farm – on how to protect water quality on their land.
</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3pt; TEXT-INDENT: 14pt">“When it comes to
rural water quality, one of our biggest challenges is meeting public
demand,” said Tracey Ryan, GRCA’s Supervisor of Extension Services.
“People want to protect their waterways – it’s simply a matter of
having the resources to do so.”</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3pt; TEXT-INDENT: 14pt">“With two-year
support from the RBC Blue Water Fund, the GRCA will now be able to
reach all rural landowners with advice and provide financial support
for them to protect their part of the Grand River watershed,” said
Ryan.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3pt; TEXT-INDENT: 14pt">The money will be
used to increase capacity in the GRCA’s Rural Water Quality and rural
non-farm programs. It will be used to broaden outreach activities such
as landowner contact and a series of five workshops for rural non-farm
residents. It will allow the GRCA to extend the reach of its existing
Rural Water Quality Program to parts of the watershed where it’s not
currently in place, such as Dufferin and Haldimand counties. Farmers
will be able to apply for grants to implement projects to protect
water quality.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3pt; TEXT-INDENT: 14pt">Rural non-farm
participants will be introduced to the Rural Landowner Stewardship
Guide which will help them evaluate the effect their property and
actions have on the environment. They’ll receive advice on the value
of upgrading wells, improving septic systems and planting trees for
windbreaks. Some landowners may be eligible to apply for grants to
undertake these projects. </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3pt; TEXT-INDENT: 14pt">RBC has committed
$50 million to its Blue Water Project to provide grants over 10 years
to support initiatives that foster a culture of water
stewardship. The program is designed to make measurable,
meaningful differences to communities and the environment.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3pt; TEXT-INDENT: 14pt">“RBC is proud to
support watershed management, conservation and water treatment through
our Blue Water program,” said Jane Black, RBC Regional Vice President,
Greater Waterloo. “We want to make sure the Grand River watershed
continues to provide ecosystem services, such as drinking water
supply, a critical habitat for plants and animals and an area of
natural beauty for many years to come.” </DIV>
<DIV
style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3pt; TEXT-INDENT: 14pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"> </DIV>
<DIV
style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3pt; TEXT-INDENT: 14pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><B>-30-</B></DIV>
<DIV
style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3pt; TEXT-INDENT: 14pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3pt"><B>About RBC</B></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3pt">RBC believes in building prosperity by
contributing to the communities in which we live and work. We
are now one of Canada’s largest corporate donors, and we support a
broad range of community initiatives, through donations, sponsorships
and employee volunteer activities. In 2008<B>,</B> RBC
contributed more than $99 million to community causes worldwide.
As a founding member of Imagine Canada, RBC is committed to donating
at least one per cent of our average annual net income before
taxes. For more information, please visit <FONT
color=#0000ff><U><A href="http://www.rbc.com/donations/"
rel=nofollow>http://www.rbc.com/donations/</A></U></FONT></DIV>
<DIV
style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3pt; TEXT-INDENT: 14pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"> </DIV>
<DIV
style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3pt; TEXT-INDENT: 14pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3pt"><U><B>Further
information:</B></U></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3pt">Dave Schultz, GRCA Manager of
Communications
<BR><B>Phone</B>: (519) 621-2763, Ext. 2273; <B>Cell</B>: (519)
658-3896
<BR><B>E-mail</B>: <A
href="http://ca.mc883.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=dschultz@grandriver.ca"
rel=nofollow>dschultz@grandriver.ca</A> <B>Website</B>: <A
href="http://www.grandriver.ca/" rel=nofollow><FONT
color=#0000ff><U>www.grandriver.ca</U></FONT></A></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3pt">Greg Skinner, RBC, Manager of
Communications<BR><B>Phone</B>: <FONT face="Arial, sans-serif"
size=2>(416) 974-5904: </FONT><B>E-mail</B>: <A
href="http://ca.mc883.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=greg.skinner@rbc.com"
rel=nofollow><FONT
color=#0000ff><U>greg.skinner@rbc.com</U></FONT></A><BR></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3pt; TEXT-INDENT: 14pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3pt; TEXT-INDENT: 14pt"> </DIV></FONT>
<DIV><FONT
size=2></FONT> </DIV></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><BR>
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