Dozens of protesters from the Divest for Palestine collective gathered Thursday for a temporary occupation of Place Jean-Paul-Riopelle, in front of the offices of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ). The collective is demanding that the CDPQ renounce “its $14 billion investment in 87 companies identified as complicit in the Israeli genocide.”
“Today is a temporary occupation, but we are not going to stop until the CDPQ has withdrawn its investments,” explained Benoît Allard of the collective Désinvestissement la Palestine. To the rhythm of the “anthem of Palestine,” activists installed signs Thursday morning, in the rain, detailing the “problematic investments of the CDPQ.” Among these, the collective names Sony, Toyota and Airbnb, among others, but also Canadian companies.
“Today we are organizing a public awareness day on the CDPQ’s investments in companies that are complicit in the Israeli occupation of Palestine, such as the Montreal-based company WSP Global,” explained Benoît Allard. The list of targeted companies, called “non-exhaustive” by the collective’s spokesperson, comes from analyses made by the Movement for a Just Peace, a pro-Palestinian organization, and by theAmerican Friends Service Committee.
WSP Global is a Canadian company with offices in Montreal that is currently working on a Jerusalem Light Rail extension project. According to Amélie Nguyen, of the Coalition URGENCE Palestine, the CDPQ has “invested $4.1 billion in the company. WSP contributes to displacing Israeli populations to the West Bank, and therefore contributes to the colonization of the territory.” The collective is demanding the withdrawal of these investments. “The objective is not for the struggle to be carried out by the workers, but economic interests should not take precedence over international law,” argued Mme Nguyen.
The Divest for Palestine collective was created last June to organize the Victoria Square encampment, which had the same demands. It was finally dismantled at the beginning of July. Activist Benoît Allard denounces this dismantling, as well as that of the encampment at McGill University. “These are attempts to silence the movement, and it won’t work.” He did not want to comment on the possibility of establishing new encampments or the possibility of legal action against McGill University.