Mining donations and research funding

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.

https://cfccdb0b-d93c-4fbf-bafe-f028554593ff.filesusr.com/ugd/420f7e_bbdf03bfd1304c038c21d4652b483370.pdf

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.

https://www.utfa.org/sites/default/files/webfiles/pdf_files/2011-Mar-03%20Information%20Request%20236%20re%20Donation%20Issues.pdf

Response from the Provost:

https://www.utfa.org/sites/default/files/webfiles/pdf_files/2011-Apr-14%20Response%20from%20Provost%20re%20IR%20236.pdf

Follow up from UTFA:

https://www.utfa.org/sites/default/files/webfiles/pdf_files/2011-July-07-to%20Provost%20re%20IR%20236.pdf

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:

https://financialpost.com/news/fp-street/influence-u-the-uneasy-ties-between-canadas-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. 

https://utopenletter.wordpress.com/https://briarpatchmagazine.com/blog/view/who-will-publish-eulogies-for-the-victims-of-barrick-gold

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    

https://rdcu.be/5Z7i

https://universityworlds.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Birn-Shipton-Schrecker-CJPH-print-version-1.pdf

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.

https://www.uio.no/english/research/interfaculty-research-areas/globalgov/globalgov-for-health/publications/2017/bibliography%3A-global-health-and-extractive-industr.html