Michael Polanyi works for Nature Canada as Policy and Campaign Manager, focused on nature-based climate solutions. Based in Toronto, he advocates for stricter climate policies, particularly highlighting high emissions from Canada's logging industry and pushing for stronger forest protection. He has also worked for the Toronto Environmental Alliance and the Children's Aid Society of Toronto.
As he explains in this piece, he 'celebrated' his grandson’s first birthday - by getting arrested “alongside four other seniors, for peacefully sitting-in at the headquarters of the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC). We were protesting the bank’s continued financing of new fossil fuel projects and pipelines at a time of a declared climate emergency, when scientists warned we must rapidly transition away from oil and gas to prevent catastrophic harm.”
Polanyi first became concerned about climate change when his sons were born - they are now 30 and 28. He relates that for three decades he has “worked through legal avenues to address the issue: signing petitions, writing letters, organizing locally, marching in rallies and meeting with elected officials. And yet emissions remain high. Wildfires, floods and extreme heat intensify. The planet continues to warm. Scientists warn that the window to prevent catastrophic damage is rapidly closing. Still, governments, banks and corporations continue to finance and build new fossil fuel infrastructure that will extend our reliance on oil and gas for decades. The “RBC 5” sit-in was my fourth arrest since 2019 for nonviolent civil disobedience aimed at preventing climate breakdown.”
As with his previous arrests, charges were dismissed in this case because the arresting officer failed to appear. Potanyi says “While I respect the court’s decision, I had hoped for the opportunity to present my defence. I had intended to plead not guilty and argue that our action was a necessary attempt to prevent a much greater harm.”
In conclusion Potanyi states:
“As a senior who has lived a full life — one made possible by a stable climate — I feel a particular responsibility to act to protect a planet my generation has destabilized. If we succeed in pushing governments and corporations toward stronger climate action, I will be grateful to have played even a small part. If we fail, I will at least know I did not remain silent while the future was being gambled away. And when I look my grandson in the eye one day, I will be able to say: I tried.”