Statements responds to report on firms said to be supporting Gaza 'genocidal campaign'
One of Canada’s largest institutional investors has hit back at a report that alleges that some of its investments facilitate international crimes.
La Caisse (formerly CDPQ) is one of the organizations named in a report by Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, which alleges involvement in supporting Israel’s military action and settlements in Gaza, which she calls a “genocidal campaign”.
The Italian human rights lawyer says that more than 200 companies are profiting from the situation in Gaza.
In a statement released late Thursday, La Caisse strongly rejects the allegations against it and says that allegations and facts must be corrected.
“For one, the majority of investments in the companies mentioned are not directly managed by La Caisse. They are managed by intermediaries or are held through standard products offered to all investors. Furthermore, La Caisse holds a very small percentage of shares in these companies, which limits its ability to directly influence them. In actual fact, it owns less than 0.1% of the majority of the companies identified,” the statement reads.
“The rest are largely multinationals, such as Booking, Airbnb or Alphabet (Google), that are available and used all over the world and owned by a large number of investors. In addition, when La Caisse cannot exercise direct influence to encourage best practices, it does so through Federated Hermès, a globally recognized service provider specialized in shareholder engagement. We expect all of these companies to meet the highest standards wherever they operate.”
“Lastly, La Caisse would like to reiterate that it has also ceased any new engagement in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. La Caisse also reaffirms that it acts at all times in full compliance with all requirements of Canadian law and will continue to act in accordance with international standards on this matter wherever it operates. La Caisse takes its responsibilities as a global investor very seriously and is committed to continue operating according to the highest standards of human rights.”
Albanese has been accused by the United States Mission to the United Nations of making “false and offensive claims” which it says reflect “malignant antisemitism” and has called for her removal, but the lawyer doubled down on her allegations Thursday as international representatives to the UN met in Geneva to discuss the report.
