Anti-Israel protesters are claiming victory after one Ontario university caved to their demands.
Ontario Tech University has given protesters encamped on the Oshawa, Ont. campus what they wanted.
Much like other anti-Israel protests on campuses in Canada, the demands centred around the school disclosing and divesting any investments that assist Israel in its war against Hamas.
According to a copy of an agreement between protesters and the school, Ontario Tech University agreed to disclose an annual report of its investments on its website beginning this fall. The school said it is not aware of any assets that benefit from the Israel-Hamas war.
“The university affirms that it is engaged in responsible investment practices. It is not aware of investments in any companies that are benefitting from the current Palestinian humanitarian crisis.”
As part of the deal, protest organizers agreed to not reestablish an encampment at Ontario Tech University before May 2025.
In an Instagram video posted by Canadians For Palestine, protesters celebrated their victory on campus with an array of anti-Israel chants.
“We will go onto the streets to let the rest of Canada know. Yes (Ontario Tech University) has divested, but Canada still needs to divest and sanction. We will let Oshawa know, as we will each and every city, each and every day, each and every week until Palestine is free,” a protester said.
The university has agreed to protect any students, staff, or faculty participating in the encampment from potential academic or employment-based retaliation at the university.
It also agreed to create a memorandum of understanding for all future partnerships affirming its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
It will create a “responsible working group” to make recommendations to the school’s audit and finance committee, with “particular attention” to companies involved in arms manufacturing and delivery or any investment benefiting from military action in the region.
“We were able to reach an agreement with our students by establishing a Presidential Advisory Committee, primarily composed of diverse students, to explore the development of Responsible Investment Practices,” the university said in an update.
The committee will advise the university’s president and vice-chancellor and guide the school’s administrators in ensuring that any investment is made within an environmental, social, and governance (ESG) lens.
The university has declared a long-standing commitment to ESG for over a decade and has its own DEI department.
The president and vice-chancellor will choose the advisory committee, which will consist primarily of students, with two members being alumni, who will “preferably have a financial background.”
Starting this fall, through the Ontario Tech International Emergency Bursary, the university has promised to fund three undergraduate student scholarships for refugees from “Palestinian or similarly affected areas.”
However, bringing in refugees from Gaza might not be as easy as paying for their scholarships.
Despite the Liberal government’s plan to raise the cap on refugees from Gaza, it has taken no immigrants from the region.
