Five faith activists, including a Catholic nun, were arrested today and charged with trespassing for an early morning protest at a downtown Toronto bank. 

The five, among them Sr. Mary Ellen Francoeur, were part of a group of 25 from various faiths who, fearing a worsening climate, took to the streets to protest the potential financing of future liquified natural gas (LNG) pipelines by Canada's big banks. For Francoeur, it's her second such arrest in two years. She was charged in April 2024 for a similar protest at a Royal Bank (RBC) branch in downtown Toronto.

Beginning at Union Station, the procession of faith leaders and supporters from Toronto’s Catholic, Anglican, Unitarian, Quaker and broader Christian communities proceeded up Bay Street as a visual "mock funeral." Dressed in all black and complete with a coffin, the procession reached the RBC main branch at Bay and Front, where the five participants began a nonviolent pray-in inside the bank while the others protested outside. 

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Despite its non-violent nature, all five who entered the bank were removed by police and charged with trespassing. 

Designed to be a visual protest towards RBC’s investments in fossil fuel pipelines, particularly the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission project, Rev. Michael Van Dusen noted that today’s mock funeral event is part of a bigger campaign aimed at significant change. 

“ One of the things that has been an inspiration, of course, is Pope Francis’ Laudato Si' and more recently, Laudate Deum, both of which stated very clearly that we haven't done enough. We are rushing towards the cliff, and so we wanted to bring to people's attention the fact that RBC is investing in planet-destroying technologies and extraction technologies,” said the deacon from St. Aidan Anglican Church.

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“This is not just an event we are talking about, but rather a campaign. We understand that a demonstration by 25 people isn't going to change the bank’s investment decisions, but we want people to see that we are in this for the long haul.” 

The Prince Rupert Gas Transmission (PRGT) project is a near 800-km natural gas pipeline designed to transport fracked gas from northeast British Columbia to Pearse Island, near Prince Rupert in northern B.C. The pipeline crosses over 1,000 waterways and sensitive ecosystems, raising environmental concerns due to methane emissions. Amid heavy opposition and blockades from climate and Indigenous groups, construction began in August 2024. The project is expected to receive provincial approval imminently. 

Van Dusen confirmed that as part of the funeral theme, the coffin symbolized both people who have died, but also the people whose lives are continually threatened by climate change. He cites the most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, which shows people in vulnerable nations are 15 times more likely to die due to climate change and extreme weather events. 

“We have a duty of care (for those people and the planet) and that comes from our faith. One of the things that we say is that there must be literally tens of thousands of scientific reports talking about the damages and consequences of climate change, but the facts of the reports and the billions of dollars worth of costs don't make a difference, the difference is if we care,” he said. 

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“Faith is about caring for our neighbour, and in this situation, the whole planet is our common home, to use the words of Pope Francis.” 

Today’s protest is part of an ongoing mission toward pressuring RBC and other banks to divest from fossil fuels and pipeline funding. Protests in 2024 and meetings with banks have not yet yielded substantial change, but the group plans to increase its demonstration frequency to maintain pressure on corporations.