University of Winnipeg could be one step closer to divesting itself of fossil fuel investments

The University of Winnipeg held a public forum Wednesdayto debate whether the institution should stop investing in the fossil fuel industry.

The University says as of October 2015 the institution's endowment fund had a market value of $57.5 million. $2.58 million, or 4.6 percent of that fund is invested in the fossil fuelindustry. Sixteenof the companies the universityinvested in appear on the Carbon Underground 200, an annual list that ranks the top 100 public coal companies and top 100 public oil and gas companies based on the potential for carbon emissions.

Divest UWinnipeg organizer Andrew Vineberg says the University of Winnipeg investmentin such industries makes a big statement. "You are supporting that industry and also it means that you are profiting off that industry. It means not only are you reinforcing and reproducing that business and that practice - and the effects of it.In this case the very damaging effects of it - but also that you want to use it for your own gain, for your own profit."

Vineberg and other organizers at the University of Winnipeg are part of a larger campus based campaign 'Fossil Free Canada' spearheaded by The Canadian Youth Climate Coalition. The organization says there are more than30 active divestment campaigns in Canada and more than500 across North America.

For Vineberg, divesting would send a very important message about the downtown Winnipeg institution. "Ending a $2.58 million investment in fossil fuels sends a very clear statement that the University is actually committed to environmentalism and sustainability and social responsibility."

Today's forum was based on the role of an educational institution in the issue of divestment, and is the first of three public sessions where the university is hoping to engage and get multiple viewpoints from students, staff, faculty and community members on the topic.

"Divestment is a complex issue, our society uses a lot of fossil fuels. It's hard to understand where the fossil fuels start and stop and so we wanted to take a look at the issue of divestment from a range of different perspectives to really understand the university's role as it relates to divestment," said Chris Minaker, the Senior Executive Officer for the University of Winnipeg.

There will be a second engagement session on campus on Monday March 21to address what financial and fiduciary issues could arise from divesting and a third session in April will look into indigenous knowledge and perspectives.There is also an online feedback form for anyone looking to provide additional feedback.

Information gathered from the online feedback and the three public forums will be added to a report being writtenby the university's oversight committee. The committeeis scheduled to submitthat report for consideration from the school's Board of Regents in May 2016. Although Minaker does admit thatit could be a moving target for the report. "We want to get it done in a timely manner but we want to get it right," said Minaker.

If additional research or data is required the process could draw on longer, but at this point Divest UWinnipeg has been happy with the action from the university. "The University of Winnipeg is actually considering it. They are giving the arguments more of a chance than other universities have. Which is why we are sort of optimistic that if there would be a first university in Canada to do it, that it makes sense that it would be the U of W," Vineberg said ahead of the open forum discussions on Wednesday.