Something I think many of us don't realize is that reconciliation cannot take place with out economic reconciliation. How does this work, and what can you do?
Economic reconciliation is important because under our colonial capitalist system, money really does make the world go ‘round. Canada's priorities our reflected in where money is spent, where funding is offered, how individuals invest their money, and who benefits from those investments.
Banks use your money to invest in companies in order to increase their profit, so not only does it matter what you invest your money in, but it also matters what the banks use your money to invest in. The best way to control what your money funds is to partner with a bank or credit union that shares your values and invests in what you care about.
Here are a few things you can do to participate in economic reconciliation.
1. Consider purchasing products and services from Indigenous businesses. This seems simple because it is. The money you spend directly benefits Indigenous small business owners, and this is really the bare minimu you can do. Some of my favourites are
Sisters Sage,
Cheekbone Beauty,
Massy Books, and
Kokom Scrunchies.
2. Move your banking to a credit union or bank that doesn't fund fossil fuel companies, or actively funds environmental initiatives. If you care about reconciliation, it follows that you must care about being a steward of this planet and its lands. Even if you are doing your very best to be sustainable in your daily life, your bank could still be investing in fossil fuels. No matter how much money you have in any given bank, you have the ability and power to show banks that you want them not to fund fossil fuels and climate change. How? Simple: by not giving them money to fund them with!
- In Canada, Royal Bank is the top bank that is funding fossil fuel companies, or 5th globally, followed by Scotiabank and TD which are both in the top 12 of the world. BMO is the 15th largest fossil fuel financer in the world.
- RBC, Scotiabank, CIBC, TD, and Bank of Montreal all increased their financing of fossil fuels by 70% in 2020, and since then RBC has increased funding by 4.18%. TD increased funding of fossil fuel companies by 33.7% between 2021-2022.
- RBC, Scotiabank, and TD are among the top 13 largest fossil fuel financers since the Paris agreement, between 2016-2023.
- Canada is the second largest funder of fossil fuels, second only to the United States.
Some credit unions and banks are dedicated to not funding fossil fuels, cutting their emissions, or are even dedicated to facilitating "socially responsible investing" or SRI, which means they will not invest your money in fossil fuel companies. This means that if you have money in TFSAs, mutual funds, stocks, bonds, or RRSPs, the bank does not use the money support fossil fuel companies.
There has been a
significant increase in consumers participating in socially responsible investing, and this means that what you do with your money truly can make an impact!
You can do a simple Google search to see if your bank funds fossil fuels, or search to see if they have an ESG policy — an Environment, Social, and Governance policy. These policies are tricky, because there are ways banks can use to them avoid accountability. Something to watch out for are claims they are offsetting their carbon emissions. This is straight from the same Banking on Climate Chaos report:
“Companies can avoid meaningful climate action through their ‘net zero’ pledges because those commitments often rely on carbon offsets. ‘Offsets’ broadly refer to actions aimed at counterbalancing carbon emissions: carbon markets, carbon offsets, climate-smart agriculture, climate geoengineering, reforestation, so-called nature-based solutions, or investments in low-carbon energy or industrial processes.
Human and Indigenous rights defenders raise serious equity concerns about carbon offsets, which open the way for land grabs, dispossession of land protectors, and continued fossil fuel extraction. Breaches of Indigenous sovereignty, human rights abuses, and gaps in the integrity, accuracy, and efficacy of such projects are well documented. The increase in net zero pledges has stimulated the market for offsets.”
So where should you bank? It's tough to always be sure, but based on my research, these are your best bets in Canada:
- Vancity. This is the largest credit union in Canada. 30% of their profits are reinvested back in the community, including funding nonprofit affordable housing. Vancity offers 100% socially responsible investments, meaning they do not invest in industries considered harmful, including fossil fuels, nuclear power, pornography, and gambling.
- Equitable Bank. If you're interested in 0.5% cash back on your everyday spending and/or a high yield savings account (2.5-3% interest rate), then EQ Bank seems like a decent option. They do have an ESG policy, and in their 2022 report they mention reducing their emissions since they don't have any physical branches — they're entirely online — and they offer their employees a hybrid work model. They are also moving into a more energy efficient building in 2024. They do mention carbon offsetting, which I think is okay considering everything else they do to reduce their emissions. In their 2022 ESG Performance Report, they also state that EQ Bank's portfolio does not include carbon-intensive activities or industries.
I am in the process of moving my business banking to Vancity, where I already do my personal banking. I am also moving from Koho to EQ Bank for my cash back and high yield savings, which I recommend for an emergency fund, because I found no information on what Koho invests in.
Switching banks can take some time, and it does involve work in possibly making phone calls, switching over credit cards, and all the rest of that, but if you are committed to reconciliation then I believe it is worth it.
So I urge you, set aside one hour each week or use your day off on Monday to start this process.
If you got this far, thanks for reading! And if you have any other ideas, please reply :) I'd love to hear from you about what you are using this time for.
