Barrick Gold mining magnate Peter Munk’s contribution of $35 million to the University of Toronto (U of T) hit a snag last month when students twice protested the local resident’s donation. The protests stem from a memorandum of agreement recently made public, regarding the opening of the School of Global Affairs.
“The agreement with U of T gives Munk quite a bit of influence,” said Linda McQuaig, journalist and co-author of The Trouble with Billionaires. The book in part explores the corporatization of education, using the Munk donation as an example. According to the memorandum, the final $15 million will only be given after Munk has had a chance to review how the school is run.
U of T student Safia Gahayr is from Kenya. She said her concern over the donation is personal: “I grew up where Canadian mining companies forced indigenous groups out of their homelands.”
McQuaig said actions like these need to be questioned. “That is the kind of thing a school of global affairs should be analyzing,” she said, “the role of multinational corporations in the developing world.”
David Naylor, president of U of T, was unavailable for comment.