Quebec’s Caisse de dépôt participates in ‘economy of genocide,’ denounces a UN report

The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) is the target of a United Nations (UN) report, which accuses Quebecers’ institutional investor of participating in the “economy of genocide” in Gaza.

The Caisse invested $9.6 billion in companies allegedly profiting from the Israel-Hamas war to enrich themselves, alleges Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories, in her report entitled “From the Economy of Occupation to the Economy of Genocide,” released Thursday.

Albanese accuses 48 companies of financially profiting from the conflict, by supplying military equipment or purchasing Israeli government bonds.

“We must stop all this,” Albanese pleaded in French during a press conference broadcast online. “The profits these companies are making are a measure of their involvement in this genocide. It’s an economy that supports Israel. Instead of sanctioning it, we’re actually supporting it.”

She recommends an embargo on arms sales to Israel. “It’s time for companies to cut ties with Israel,” added Albanese in another response in English. “Engaging in something that generates economic gains and profits is problematic.”

In the report, the Caisse is specifically targeted because its investments in three targeted companies increased from 2023 to 2024. The report denounces the institution’s holdings in these companies, “despite its responsible investment and human rights policies.”

The report cites the example of its investment in Lockheed Martin, which tripled from 2023 to 2024. The report accuses the American company of profiting from the sale of its military aircraft to Israel.

“After October 2023, the F-35s and F-16s played a vital role in providing Israel with unprecedented air power, enabling it to drop approximately 85,000 tons of bombs, most of them unguided, killing and wounding more than 179,411 Palestinians and devastating Gaza.”

Lockheed Martin states on its website that it is “proud of the central role it has played in ensuring the security of the State of Israel.”

An immediate response from CDPQ was not available.

In May, CDPQ president and CEO Charles Emond told a parliamentary committee that the situation is not “black and white” when investing in the defense sector.

He also mentioned that some of the Caisse’s investments were not linked to a decision to invest directly in the company, but rather were held passively, by replicating a stock index.

“In the case of Lockheed Martin, we could also point out that it is the same company that manufactures equipment supplied by other governments, American or otherwise, at the NATO level, to defend Ukraine, in particular,” said the Caisse’s CEO.

The Caisse must not “look the other way.”

The report is “very important” because it illustrates how the economic system has benefited from the Israeli military intervention, emphasized Raymond Legault, spokesperson for the Coalition du Québec Urgent Palestine, in an interview.

He is calling on the Caisse to divest itself of its investments in companies that profit from “this genocidal situation.”

“We can’t look the other way and say that, ultimately, our investments in these companies have no connection with the crimes being committed,” Legault said.

The Caisse’s exposure may be even greater than the $9.6 billion identified in the UN report, Legault argued. The rapporteur herself acknowledged that the list of targeted companies was not exhaustive.

The Quebec Coalition for Palestine Relief estimates that the Caisse has invested nearly $27.4 billion in companies that profit from Israel’s military actions.

At a time when increasing military spending is a priority for the Mark Carney government, Legault is concerned about seeing defence companies, which do business with the Israeli government, profiting from it.

“There is no indication from our governments, neither the Canadian government nor the Quebec government, of a real desire to dissociate themselves from their unwavering support for Israel to date.”

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews