Students, faculty, and alumni are asking Victor Philip Dahdaleh to retract his $20 million donation until York implements policy to prevent investments in weapons manufacturers.
Trudy Pound-Curtis, assistant vice-president, finance and chief financial officer, reiterates that York uses best practices in developing its policy on investments which is built on advice from major investment consulting firms.
“The university provides each manager with a mandate that requires them to take into consideration environmental, social, and governance factors in their investment decisions,” she says.
York’s approach is considered to be the best practice by the Social Investment Organization and the Coalition of Universities for Responsible Investing.
“Currently, as per the September published reports, the university endowment fund does not hold any of the stocks referred to in the letter,” says Pound-Curtis.
The divestment campaign is led by a coalition of student groups, including Amnesty International at York, Students Against Israeli Apartheid, the undergraduate students’ union, and the York Federation of Students.
“We need to have an honest discussion with Ms. Pound-Curtis about the administration’s investment advisers and what constitutes best practice,” says Ragda Habbal, coalition spokesperson.
York divested from South Africa in 1986, Queen’s University divested from Talisman Energy Inc. holdings in 2000 because of concerns over investments in Sudan, which was mentioned in York’s own 2012 Best Practices Guide on University Campus Sustainability, adds Habbal.
“Concordia became the first university in Canada to begin divesting from fossil fuels last year. In the United States, Columbia University divested from private-prison companies in June, and Hampshire College divested from six companies in 2009 on the grounds of their involvement in the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.”
Hasbara at York, the Israeli advocacy group, has condemned the divestment campaign, stating the campaign deliberately isolates Israel.
The Coalition of Universities for Responsible Investing also states that, “investors acting on behalf of shareholders have a legal obligation (fiduciary duty) to act in the shareholders’ best interests.”
Habbal argues that these interests including more than just financial matters.
“Given the fact that many members of the York community, including a large international-student body, have been affected by war and conflict involving the use of these weapons, it is in the best interests of the university’s shareholders for York to stop investing in the companies that produce and sell them.”
In regards to whether the endowment fund currently holds stocks referred to in our letter, Habbal notes, the letter does not claim that York is currently investing in the weapons companies mentioned, but that it invests in them generally, such as in June Investment-Holdings report and in other reports throughout the years.
“We have no guarantee that York will not reinvest in them as soon as the December report. What we’re demanding is a boycott of these companies, a commitment not to reinvest.”
“That’s what divestment normally entails.”
Ryan Moore
News Editor
