Demand RBC apologize to Indigenous, Black and racialized delegates for racist treatment at the RBC AGM

RBC funded police brutality on the Wet'suwet'en yintah

Earlier this year, Indigenous, Black, People of Colour delegates and climate leaders attended the Royal Bank of Canada’s (RBC) shareholder meeting. A delegation of frontline leaders, all of whom held valid proxies from RBC shareholders, were met with aggression and force when they attempted to enter the main room of the RBC Annual General Meeting in Saskatoon.

RBC employed a racist, color-coded pass system to segregate Indigenous and racialized delegates, denying them entry to the main board and shareholder meeting room. RBC security and police aggressively enforced this segregation, threatening members of the delegation with arrest, and assaulting Indigenous matriarchs and Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs.

RBC CEO Dave Mckay and senior executives, John Stackhouse and Martin-Pierre Boulianne, actively facilitated this segregation on behalf of RBC. Now, the delegation is demanding that RBC apologize and be accountable for its racist treatment.

Will you join over 2000 people and 150 organizations to demand that RBC apologize to land defenders?

To: RBC CEO Dave McKay and senior executives, John Stackhouse and Richard Boulianne Click to see full petition text

We are writing in regards to the Royal Bank of Canada’s (RBC) Annual General Meeting (AGM) on April 5, 2023 in Saskatoon SK, Treaty 6. RBC disrespected a delegation of Indigenous, Black, People of Colour and other climate leaders, all of whom held valid proxies from RBC shareholders, by targeting and segregating them to a separate room, away from the main meeting room. RBC's use of a reserve system, based on colour-coded passes, clearly discriminated against our delegation of IBPOC and other climate leaders. Aside from this dehumanizing segregation, our delegation was threatened with arrest and met with police violence. This is a clear attempt to prevent other shareholders from exercising their rights and seeing our humanity. This is unacceptable behaviour. We demand: -a formal acknowledgment of wrongdoing in the exclusion of proxy holders into a segregated room -an apology -commitments from RBC going forward that Indigenous participation will be respected and that respect is demonstrated by: -Equitable treatment for Indigenous shareholders and proxy holders -Full participation without segregation Saskatoon police, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), and RBC staff intimidated registered shareholders and proxy holders, forcefully excluding them from full participation in a main room that clearly still had capacity. This demonstrates a clear disconnect to RBC's promises of sustainable and ethical practices. Mr. Stackhouse and Mr. Boulianne, you actively facilitated this segregation on behalf of RBC. RBC must apologize to Indigenous, Black and racialized land defenders immediately, and commit to respecting BIPOC participation in shareholder meetings.

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