“CALL PROTECTION NOW, THE B*TCHY ONE IS GONE.”
Protection was called on University of Ottawa students protesting RBC on campus during 101 Week. Organized promptly by advocacy commissioner for the University of Ottawa Students’ Union (UOSU) Maisy Elspeth after witnessing an RBC stand at the U of O’s clubs fair, the protest was made up of roughly five students.
After witnessing RBC present at the clubs fair, Elspeth expressed confusion and was told by conventions and reservations that it was a part of a section reserved for the university’s adjoining wellness fair. When Elspeth asked how RBC was related to wellness, she was told that they were promoting financial wellness.
“I told the person who was there that as much as financial wellness is one thing, I think planet wellness is also one thing, and the planet is not doing too good,” said Elspeth.
After quickly printing out information on RBC and inviting students there, Elspeth was joined by James Adair, a Social science director for the UOSU Board of Directors and an active advocate of the RBC off-campus movement.
While protesting, Elspeth’s picture was taken by RBC staff, and she was told that staff had the ability to call the police on the protest.
“When we were standing there and talking to people, [RBC staff] were saying things like ‘these kids don’t understand, we need to do a gradual transition, they haven’t even read the RBC policy on fossil fuels’,” said Adair.
At one point when Elspeth briefly left to get more supplies for the protest, Adair heard staff say to “call protection now, the bitchy one is gone.”
Once protection showed up, they spoke with RBC staff first, and then with protestors.
“[Protection told us], they had no problem with what we were doing, they just reminded us to not block the table and were fine with where we were standing. RBC kind of stopped being vocal after that,” said Elspeth.
Shana Quesnel, co-president of Climate Justice Climatique uOttawa (CJCUO) did not think it was surprising that RBC called security on the protest, and described it as one of the ways RBC continues to reinforce violence.
“They’ve called the police on us last year for a similar thing, and I think it’s really ridiculous because all we’re doing is giving information to students. We canvas in front of the bank, we’ve never blocked the entrance completely. And they still have no problem calling the police on us,” said Quesnel.
Quesnel also recalled that RBC has generally been aggressive when it comes to students raising awareness. “It’s as if they’re forgetting that they’re coming on our campus,” said Quesnel. “We’re completely allowed to do this. It’s our campus. They took [what once was] a student study lounge in the UCU building, which is supposed to be the student union building.
Quesnel also pointed to Elspeth and Adair’s support for CJCUO and anti-RBC work as incredibly supportive.
“We have had an advocacy commissioner that has not been as responsive in the past or as open to hear our concerns even. So it’s been a really great change with [Elspeth and Adair], the two of them have been really great to work with, and also they’ve really been keeping us in the loop when it comes to those things,” said Quesnel.
CJCUO is planning on holding another anti-RBC on-campus event sometime in October and recommends that students follow their social media for more information on upcoming events.
