Here is an article on the fossil fuel divestment motion brought forward by the Stewardship of the Environment Committee. It was passed at the synod of the Anglican Diocese of Montreal on October 16, 2015.
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The Anglican Diocese of Montreal is working on ways to sell off, or “divest,” shares
and other investments in coal, oil and gas companies from the diocesan investment
portfolio.
The move comes following a resolution made at the annual synod of the diocese,
attended by almost 160 active clergy and lay delegates in mid-October.
The diocese is made up of around 10,000 Anglicans in over 80 parishes in
southwestern Quebec, including Montreal Island, Laval, the Laurentians, the South
Shore and part of the Eastern Townships, along with nearby areas.
The majority of delegates who favoured the resolution in a show-of-hands vote was
obviously overwhelming and Bishop Mary Irwin-Gibson, in the chair, did not ask for a
count. A few delegates, however, questioned whether delegates were sufficiently well
informed and suggested the matter be left to investment experts.
But comment on the resolution was largely in support.
“The continued use of fossil fuels threatens humanity,” Richard Matthews, rector's warden at St. Phillip’s Church in Montreal West and a member of the diocesan
stewardship of the environment committee, told delegates. He said the resolution
will also “send a message to young people about the relevance of Anglicanism.”
Raymond Noël, a parishioner of the Church of St. Andrew and St. Mark in Dorval, said
the diocese has little to worry about when it comes to the financial impact of
divestment and in fact there are data that show that shares of fossil fuel companies
are a risky investment and even suggest that investors who divest from them do
better than others.
“There is a wealth of scientific date proving the veracity of climate change and
indicating that the burning of fossil fuels is the primary cause.”
Backers of the resolution argued that fossil fuel divestment would actualize basic
Anglican principles calling on Anglicans to be good stewards of God’s creation.
The Rev. Sophie Rolland, rector of the Church of the Resurrection in Pointe Claire,
said sin is not always individual. The resolution helps to show “how we participate
in communal sins as well.”
“This is an example of how we can be Christ in the world,” said the Rev. Alain
Brosseau of the downtown Church of St. John the Evangelist.”
The Rev. Elizabeth Welch of the Church of St. Andrew and St. Mark said the
resolution indicates that “a different life, a different world, is possible.”
The resolution urges the diocesan finance committee “to take, in a timely manner,
all reasonable measures in its power” to divest from shares in lists of 100 coal
companies and 100 gas and oil companies identified by a U.S. firm known as Fossil
Fuel Indexes.
Delegates were told that the diocese does have holdings in such companies but
diocesan staff could not provide details right away. Investments of the diocese are
largely through a mutual fund called the Anglican Balanced Fund, managed by an
investment firm. It was expected to take some time to cross-check the holdings of
the fund against the lists of the Fossil Fuel Indexes and report back to a diocesan
council on a detailed divestment policy.
The diocese has for years had a policy of not investing in companies involved in
armaments, tobacco, gambling, alcohol or pornography.
Related
Montreal Anglicans Vote to Divest from Fossil Fuels
Facts Sheet and FAQ for the Fossil Fuel Divestment Motion in the Diocese of Montreal
Climate Change and Faith: Why we Support the Fossil Fuel Divestment Motion
Why I Support The Fossil Fuel Divestment Motion (Dr. Brooke Struck
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