Banks are facing increasing shareholder pressure to take climate action at their upcoming annual general meetings (AGMs), as more companies

Key Highlights :

1. Royal Bank of Canada cancelled its in-person annual general meeting with less than a day's notice citing COVID-19 as the reason, but Wet'suwet'en hereditary chief Na'Moks is trying again this year.

2. Climate activists are increasingly using shareholder proposals to shift corporate policy.

3. RBC faced its first climate-related shareholder proposal in 2018, while this year it has five going to a vote.

4. There are also three resolutions at Toronto-Dominion Bank going to a vote, two at Bank of Nova Scotia, and one each at Bank of Montreal, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and National Bank of Canada as activists increasingly focus on banks as key intermediaries in the climate fight.

5. The key points is that shareholder proposals give the option for major shareholders to make a statement, with even small percentages of support representing billions of dollars of investments.

     It was only after his flight landed in Toronto last year that Wet'suwet'en hereditary chief Na'Moks learned that Royal Bank of Canada had cancelled its in-person annual general meeting with less than a day's notice. The bank cited COVID-19 as the reason it moved the event entirely online, but though Na'Moks had been advocating for the meeting to be held in a traditional setting, he wasn't sure what he could do to change the bank's mind.

     "I was pretty frustrated," Na'Moks recalls. "I had been working on this for a long time, and it just didn't seem to matter."

     But then, a few weeks later, Na'Moks got a call from a representative from the bank's Indigenous advisory group. The group had been working on a solution to hold the meeting in a traditional setting, and they had finally found a location that was willing to host it.

     "I was really happy," Na'Moks says. "It was a relief to know that we could still have the meeting after all."

     Na'Moks' story is just one example of the ways that Indigenous communities are working together to address the effects of COVID-19. Though the crisis has been devastating for many Indigenous communities, the response has been impressive.

     "There's been a lot of collaboration between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities," Na'Moks says. "We've all been working together to try to get the most impact for our communities."

     Collaboration is key

     One of the main ways that Indigenous communities are working together is through the COVID-19 Response Network. The network was created in order to provide a forum for Indigenous communities to share information and resources about the crisis.

     "The Response Network has been really important because it's given us a space to share our stories and to work together," Na'Moks says. "It's been a really positive experience."

     Another way that Indigenous communities are collaborating is through the creation of healing centres. Many Indigenous communities are struggling to deal with the trauma that COVID-19 has caused, and the centers are a way for communities to heal together.

     "The healing centres are a really important part of the response," Na'Moks says. "They're a place where we can share our stories and find healing."

     The response is still ongoing

     Despite the progress that has been made, the response to COVID-19 is still ongoing. Many Indigenous communities are still dealing with the effects of the crisis, and there is still much work to be done.

     "The response is still ongoing," Na'Moks says. "There's still a lot of work to be done, and we're still learning about how to best help our communities."

     But Na'Moks is confident that the response will be successful

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