U of Toronto faculty, librarians, staff and students have mobilized for more than a decade to demand more transparency from University administrators about corporate donations, and to ensure that decisions made in the name of the university meet high standards for ethical conduct both locally and on a global scale. Particular attention has been paid to major donations from Peter Munk, President and Founder of the mining company Barrick Gold.
Timeline
2005?
First Peter Munk donation founds the Munk Centre for International Studies, U of T.
2007
The Devonshire Initiative begins to promote a role for the mining industry in development. It was an initiative Marketa Evans during her time as Executive Director of the Munk Centre for International Studies, which was located at 1 Devonshire Place.
2009
Memorandum of Agreement for second Munk Donation to U of T to found the Munk School for Global Affairs.
http://individual.utoronto.ca/paul_hamel/Documents/Munk_MoA-Global_Affairs.pdf
2010
Students mobilize to protest the donation and launch a campaign, and dedicated website under the title MunkoutofUofT. The website continues to track the relationship between mining and the university https://munkoutofuoft.wordpress.com/. Activities have included teach-ins, film screenings, and rallies.
2011
UTFA (University of Toronto Faculty Association) makes a request for information about the process through which the Munk donation was approved.
Response from the Provost:
Follow up from UTFA:
Report by John P Valleau and Paul A Hamel on mining magnate Peter Munk’s donation to U of T:
The Perils of Philanthropy: The Case of the Munk School
A Response to the Perils of Philanthropy by U of T Provost Cheryl Misak:
https://www.provost.utoronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/155/2018/05/Perils-of-Philanthropy.pdf
Open Letter on Philanthropy by U of T President David Naylor:
2012
Financial Times article on The Uneasy ties between Canada’s universities and wealthy business magnates:
2013
U of T librarians raise questions about the appointment of U of T ex-president David Naylor appointed to the Board of Directors of Barrick Gold.
2018
The List hosts an event on the role of the mining industry at U of T. https://utopenletter.wordpress.com/2018/10/29/hold-the-date-pedagogies-of-complicity-finance-mining-and-the-university-november-29-2018/
Faculty conduct research on the negative impacts of Canadian mining on public health.
Sakura Saunders, Anne-Emanuelle Birn, Ben Brisbois, Donald C. Cole, Paul A. Hamel, Lori Hanson, Jamie Kneen, and Baijayanta Mukhopadhyay, “Who will publish eulogies for the victims of Barrick Gold?” Briarpatch, April 24, 2018.
Schrecker, Ted, Birn, Anne-Emanuelle, and Aguilera, Mariajosé, “How extractive industries affect health: Political economy underpinnings and pathways,” Health & Place, 2018, 52 (July): 135–147.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1353829217311966?via%3Dihub
Birn, Anne-Emanuelle, Leah Shipton, Ted Schrecker, “Canadian mining and ill health in Latin America: A call to action,” Canadian Journal of Public Health, online 6 September 2018; print version Dec 2018: 109(5), 786-790
https://doi.org/10.17269/s41997-018-0113-y
2020
Open letter from The List to Vice-President Goel protesting the administration’s decision to accept funding from the transnational mining corporation Vale for a Covid 19 Challenge Award.
https://utopenletter.wordpress.com/category/the-list-2019-2020/.
Response from VP Goel.
https://universityworlds.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/VP-Goel-response-re-Vale-1.pdf
Resources: University of Oslo Bibliography on Extractive Industries and Global Health.