Pro-Palestinian protesters face off with counter-protesters at Victoria Square encampment
CBC
On Day 4 of the pro-Palestinian encampment at Victoria Square in Montreal's financial district, protesters were confronted with a counter-protest that wants the encampment taken down.
On Saturday, pro-Palestinian protesters set up tents near the offices of the Caisse dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) and Quebec's International Relations Ministry.
The collective Désinvestir pour la Palestine and other civil society organizations are urging the CDPQ, which manages Quebec's public pensions, to divest $14.2 billion from 87 companies connected to Israel.
"How many dead people, how many unpunished crimes will it take before our institutions acknowledge the genocide in progress and stand on the right side of history?" asked Benoît Allard, a spokesperson for the collective at a press conference on Tuesday morning.
On Tuesday afternoon, pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered at the encampment to demand a ceasefire in Gaza.
They were met by counter-demonstrators from what appeared to be two different groups: a pro-Israeli group and an anti-encampment group.
Eva Derhy, one of the counter-protesters, said she wants to get her "city back."
"We just want our peace and order back in our city. Why is Mayor Plante not dismantling this? Why is she allowing people to sleep in the street without getting fined?" she asked.
Montreal police stood between the groups on Tuesday afternoon — blocking any face-to-face confrontation.
The activist groups slammed the CDPQ for investing in Lockheed Martin, a weapons manufacturer with direct ties to the Israel Defence Forces (IDF).
The pro-Palestinian organizations also criticized the CDPQ's investment in WSP Global Inc., a Montreal-based consulting firm that has ties with Israel.
In a statement, the CDPQ acknowledged that it invested more than $5 billion in WSP and Alstom, which protesters have also denounced due to its business interests in Israel.
The CDPQ, which manages funds for more than six million Quebecers, told CBC News in an email that WSP holds an "inherited" contract from an "acquisition" that is linked to Israeli settlements.
"Our direct exposure to Israel represents less than 0.1 per cent of our portfolio," read the statement. It said it would not be making any new investments in a "war zone" for the time being.
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