Tiohtià:ke/Mooniyang/Montréal, August 14, 2024 – It is with anger and indignation that the members of the Divest for Palestine Collective learned on August 12th that the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) has invested an additional $158 million in WSP Global, adding to the $4.2 billion already held by the CDPQ as of December 31, 2023.
This new investment is announced amidst an ongoing genocide in Gaza and just days after a delegation from the Coalition du Québec URGENCE Palestine, which included our Collective, met with the CDPQ to reiterate the urgent need to divest from companies complicit in human rights violations against Palestinians and in the colonization of the West Bank, once again declared illegal by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on July 19th. During the meeting held on August 7th, the case of WSP Global was presented in detail to CDPQ representatives, who were provided with a thoroughly documented dossier. To date, the CDPQ has made no follow-up with the delegation.
WSP Global: A Quebec Company Complicit in Illegal Colonization
Montreal-based WSP Global is deeply involved in the extension of the Jerusalem Light Rail, which supports the maintenance of Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem, a territory occupied and annexed by Israel in clear violation of international law. WSP was hired by the Zionist state as a supervisory company for the project and plays a significant role, including reviewing designs and models, quality control, and ensuring the project is completed according to specifications, all on behalf of the Zionist state.
The “Désinvestir pour la Palestine” Collective denounces the misleading statements of CDPQ President Charles Émond, who declared during the April 24th session of the Public Finance Committee that WSP Global had a “fairly low involvement” in this project, attempting to downplay its role in the violations of Palestinian rights and international law.
Two Solutions: Divest or Sever All Business Ties with the Zionist State
As the principal shareholder of WSP Global, the CDPQ must act! Two solutions are evident: fully divest from WSP Global or demand that the company withdraws from any project linked to the illegal colonization of the West Bank and severs all its business ties with the Zionist state.
Quote
“Supporting the economic development of a Quebec company like WSP at all costs, while it is complicit in the violations of the human rights of the Palestinian people and international law, is that really what we want as our societal project in Quebec? It’s time for the CDPQ to stop hiding behind empty rhetoric, take responsibility, and be accountable to the Quebec population it is supposed to serve,” said Benoit Allard, spokesperson for the “Désinvestir pour la Palestine” Collective.
References
International Court of Justice, ‘’Advisory Opinion : Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem’’, July 19, 2024.
Extract :
278. [Members States are under the obligation] to abstain from entering into economic or trade dealings with Israel concerning the Occupied Palestinian Territory or parts thereof which may entrench its unlawful presence in the territory; to abstain, in the establishment and maintenance of diplomatic missions in Israel, from any recognition of its illegal presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory; and to take steps to prevent trade or investment relations that assist in the maintenance of the illegal situation created by Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
Web site of the entreprise Datumate, ‘’WSP tracks and manages critical Jerusalem Light Rail projects with a digital construction platform’’, case study, 2023.
Commission des institutions de l’Assemblée nationale, Journal des débats, 24 avril 2024.
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