Pro-Palestinian demonstration held outside CDPQ’s Montreal office

A pro-Palestinian group is holding a demonstration outside Quebec’s pension fund manager’s Montreal office all day Thursday. 

The group “Divest for Palestine Collective” claims that the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) invests more than $14.2 billion in companies with ties to Israel. 

“We think it’s really important to show them, show the public, to show people in Quebec what their money is being used for,” said spokesperson for the “Divest for Palestine Collective” Benoit Allard.

In a press release, the demonstration is intended to be inclusive and family-friendly and will take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 1000 Place Jean-Paul Riopelle, with the aim of informing people about why they’re calling for divestment. 

“It’s always been a space that is open from families, from people from everywhere. We are a collective of citizens, so everybody is welcome. So there’s going to be craft workshops, there’s going to be a picnic, so it’s really a festive event as we’ve done in the past,” Allard said.  

The collective said it’s urgent to intensify efforts to divest public funds allegedly involved in the Israel-Hamas war. 

According to Niall Clapham Ricardo, a protester and member of Independent Jewish voices, Quebecers should know where their money goes to.

“When the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec was created, it was to give Quebec autonomy with regards to us as a people, as a nation, being able to decide what we want to do with our own money and put in projects that we want to do for the collective good,” he said.

Ricardo said one of the key topics discussed is how the investments could be redirected to help people, like ensuring Indigenous communities have access to clean drinking water.  

“A lot of Indigenous brothers and sisters have been supporting Palestinians because they understand in their flesh what settler colonialism is, right? So I think that it’s very important for the next generation to understand that we can build a different world,” he said. “That’s why we’re here and that’s why we want kids to come here today and to learn from that.” 

The group was part of the pro-Palestinian encampment that was set up at Square Victoria for about two weeks and dismantled by Montreal police earlier in July.