Extinction Rebellion Protest: RBC Divest from Fossil Fuel Industry

On April 18, I participated in a rally organized by the Annapolis Valley branch of Extinction Rebellion in Wolfville. The goal of the rally was to protest the investments of Canada's banks in the fossil fuel industry. The target of this protest was the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), which has the single largest investment in the fossil fuel industry in Canada. According to the Rainforest Action Network, RBC invested $100.5 billion in fossil fuel-related enterprises between 2016 and 2018. As part of the protest I was asked to block traffic, while holding up a large sign, so handbills could be given to motorists (and  while I may have gained the votes of some environmentalists, I may have lost a few votes from impatient motorists.) Either way I thought I was doing a pretty good job until at one point I realized my sign was upside down! For more information on the protest and our goals, you can read the story in the Advertiser (which includes a video of the group singing; I am the one with the bullhorn singing off-key). As the candidate for the upcoming federal election I am committed to making climate change the central issue and to put pressure on the federal government to stop promoting (and subsidizing) the industry and to implement fundamental changes to our economy and society to reach the target of zero emissions.