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Organizers promise 'escalation' of Wednesday demonstration if U of G rejects fossil free initiative

Board of governors set to decide shortly after protest begins on campus whether to divest the school's $38 million investment in fossil fuel-related entitities
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Members of Fossil Free Guelph demonstrate on their way to the University of Guelph's board of governors meeting last year. Facebook photo

Organizers of a Wednesday protest at the University of Guelph say 'there will be an escalation' of the protest if the school's board of governors don't vote in favor of divesting the U of G's fossil fuel investments.

Wednesday is D-Day for the five-plus years campaign to get the university to divest its fossil fuel interests.

A protest organized by Fossil Free Guelph is scheduled to start at noon in Branion Plaza and the board of governors meeting starts at 1 p.m. at the Arboretum Centre.

On the agenda is a final vote on whether or not the school should divest its estimated $38 million from fossil fuel investments.

Protestors plan on rallying before marching over to the board of governors meeting.

"We're hoping to have 200 people at the demonstration," said Spencer MacGregor of Fossil Free Guelph, the organization leading the call for the change.

"Hopefully we get the right decision. We thought they were going to decide last year but they delayed the decision for a year," MacGregor said.

In an email to media Monday, MacGregor advised that if the vote doesn't go in favour of what Fossil Free Guelph is looking for, the protest could escalate.

"If they vote to not divest, or they ignore the question of divestment, there will be an escalation," said the email from McGregor.

Asked Tuesday, McGregor said he didn't want to reveal what that escalation might entail to the media prior to the event.

"We have some rough plans for the day of and the coming weeks," he said in an interview.

Roughly 50 students and members of the genreal public attended a rally last Sunday in the freezing cold on campus.

Wednesday's vote is the culmination of several years of requests from students and others in the community that the school separate itself from fossil fuel investments.

"This is the conclusion of over five years of student activism at the University of Guelph from Fossil Free Guelph. The group has received large student support in the past with 72% of voters in favour of divestment in an undergraduate referendum and an official endorsement from," McGregor wrote in his email.

"The demand of the group is an immediate freeze in all new investments in coal, oil and natural gas companies and full divestment within a period of five years. Thus far, the university has created many working groups and committees to review the issue but has never stated conclusively whether or not they support divestment.

"Many students came to the University of Guelph because they believed it was an environmentally-friendly school. Therefore, many students will be very disappointed if the university chooses to maintain its investments in fossil fuels."


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Tony Saxon

About the Author: Tony Saxon

Tony Saxon has had a rich and varied 30 year career as a journalist, an award winning correspondent, columnist, reporter, feature writer and photographer.
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