A poster discovered on a university campus in Quebec is raising eyebrows for inviting upper-middle class students to attend a workshop encouraging the redistribution of their wealth. The workshop, hosted by the Resource Movement at McGill University in Montreal, is committed to “organizing young people with class privilege for a more just and equitable world.”
An image of the poster was first shared on X by user and McGill student @HalesBeth.
“Have a rich family? Uncomfortable about it?” asks the poster, explaining that the Resource Movement, which has chapters in Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver, is hosting a workshop series on campus for wealthy students committed to social justice.
Among the topics discussed at the session include “being honest” about how wealth was accumulated in participants’ families, getting involved in social justice movements that address the structural roots of inequality, and creating concrete plans to redistribute wealth.
The poster includes a QR code that opens to a Google Doc which provides more information about what the workshop entails, how often the McGill student discussion group will meet, and the workshop goals.
“We’ll build community and relationships, create space to talk openly and honestly about often-taboo issues of wealth and class privilege, and support each other to take action to leverage privilege for social change,” the digital pamphlet reads.
“Each workshop will be around 50% listening to a presentation with other ‘pods,’, and 50% discussion in our small student pod,” it continues, adding that because the workshop will go into the summer, the workshop may be a mixture of in-person and online.
“That pod is working on setting up a Montreal student Resource Movement group and expanding student organizing in RM in general. We’d love to have you involved as we do this!”
Although the program typically costs $150 to enroll, eligible participants may sign up for free or pay a reduced rate if they don’t have direct access to funds. Those with “extra funds” are encouraged to sign up to become a “supporter” for $250 to help cover the costs of organizing the program and help create cheaper options for those who can’t afford to attend.
The circulating event poster was met with shock on X, with many users surprised to learn the workshop wasn’t a satirical gimmick.
“Making a poster like this and telling the whole class to each put $1,000 in cash in a bucket and then disappearing never to be seen again,” joked one user by the handle @bongripskill.
“I showed this to my partner and he said ‘are they gonna do an Imagine video?’” added another cheekily, referring to the widely-mocked video created by a team of celebrities during the COVID-19 lockdowns.
According to the Resource Movement website, the organization was founded in 2015 to help young people with class privilege address inequality in Canada. It was derived from a similar organization in the United States by three individuals who wanted to create a new movement in Canada.
After several years, the network – is now comprised of over 100 young upper-middle-class Canadians – has organized campaigns that have successfully redistributed over $1.2 million to other social justice organizations across the country.
