MOTION 1: SOCIAL AND ECOLOGICAL INVESTMENT TASK FORCE
1. Given the 5th Mark of Mission, ‘To Strive to Safeguard the Integrity of Creation and Sustain and Renew the Life of the Earth’ and the associated baptismal promise; and
2. Accepting the direction from the meeting of the Primates of the Anglican Communion in Canterbury, England Jan. 2016 to “get behind the (United Nations) Sustainable Development Goals” that address the root causes of poverty including environmental abuse and the universal need for development that works for all people and creation; and
3. Recalling the plea from a group of Anglican Bishops gathered near Cape Town in February 2015 viz. “We call for a review of our churches’ investment practices with a view to supporting environmental sustainability and justice by divesting from industries involved primarily in the extraction or distribution of fossil fuels”; and
4. Building on experience of work undertaken in the Dioceses of Ottawa, Montreal, Huron and Quebec which through strategic divestment or re-investment have led these bodies to significantly re-align their investment practices with their faith convictions; and
5. Underlining that as members of the Anglican Church of Canada we recognize the right to decent work (Sustainable Development goal #8) and look for the well-being of those workers transitioning to sustainable jobs throughout Canada with unique needs; and
6. Recognizing the duty to consult and inherent rights of Indigenous people to self-determination; and
7. Recognizing that a mandate for such a group could well include among other things, consideration of justice for non-human creation, the interests of future generations of humanity, and support for environmental sustainability and justice; and
8. Suggesting a membership reporting to the Primate and the Council of General Synod as follows:
The General Secretary
A member of the Investment Committee
A member of the Financial Management Committee
An administrator and a member of the General Synod Pension Plan
Two members of the PWSEJ/Creation Matters team
A person selected by Indigenous Ministries
A theological resource person
A representative from a diocese directly affected by changing economic realities
A representative from a diocese above with experience in divestment
9. Suggesting that through an existing formal relationship with the Anglican Church of Canada that SHARE Canada provide support to the task force proposed above:
Be it resolved that:
1. A task force be appointed as soon as possible to carry out a substantive review of the investment policies and practices for the management of the General Synod assets and those of the General Synod Pension Plan in light of its understanding of the Church’s faith and mission, including the Church’s social and environmental responsibilities; and
2. That this task force include the widest possible range of internal stakeholders including those charged with the ministry of financial responsibility in matters pertaining to the General Synod and General Synod Pension Plan, and those with interests related to sustainable environmental investing; and
3. That in order for this information to be broadly shared throughout our church, this task force present an interim report by May 2017 to the Council of General Synod and continue to report on an annual basis on actions taken or considered as may be necessary and appropriate to cause the Anglican Church of Canada to demonstrate in a visible way sustainable environmental investing as a mandatory policy practice.
MOTION 2: ACCOUNTABILITY AND PARTNERSHIP
1. That the General Synod become a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investing as a tangible expression of our desire to move to a low-carbon economy; and
2. That in order to enable robust and effective engagement with corporations that the General Synod make full use of its affiliate membership with SHARE Canada and encourage dioceses to become affiliate members.
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