Pro-Palestinian protesters who set up an encampment at Montreal’s Victoria Square last month are scheduled to rally in front of the offices of Quebec’s pension fund Wednesday.
The protesters have been asking the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) to cut ties with Israeli institutions it accuses of being complicit in the war between Israel and Hamas.
The groups are also calling for the Quebec government to shut its office in Tel Aviv.
Divest for Palestine Collective, one of the encampment organizers, says the “silence” by the CDPQ and CAQ government is “appalling.”
Wednesday’s rally is scheduled to begin at noon.
The “Al-Sumud People’s Encampment,” the first such camp in a public space in Montreal, went up June 22. Similar camps went up on the grounds of McGill University and UQAM, with the latter having since been dismantled.
In a statement first sent to CityNews last week, and again on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the CDPQ says the pension fund is “not making any new investments in a war zone until further notice.”
“Our direct exposure to Israel represents less than 0.1% of our portfolio.”
More on Victoria Square encampment
According to the statement, the CDPQ has $5 billion invested in companies like WSP and Alstom.
“Alstom has assured us that it has no ongoing activities within or in relation to Israeli settlements in the disputed Palestinian territories and has formally requested to be removed from the United Nations list; and WSP holds a contract inherited from an acquisition which aims to ensure quality control of a transport project,” the statement reads.
The CDPQ’s other investments, it says, are with multinationals like Expedia, Airbnb or Alphabet. The CDPQ adds it “expect(s) them to adhere to the highest standards wherever they operate.
“CDPQ ensures at all times that it complies with its legal obligations and international standards in all jurisdictions where it operates.”
The SPVM and the City of Montreal say they are continuing to monitor the Victoria Square encampment and the protesters there.
Police officers intervened last Monday after some protesters tried to topple the Queen Victoria statue. They were also present the following day during a counter-protest.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante said last week the SPVM is watching to make sure nothing gets out of hand.
“They’re making sure that it’s being done in a proper way, and any type of anti-Semitism or Islamophobia or discrimination is not accepted in Montreal,” Plante said.