“Game over.” These two words, addressed to CDPQ CEO Charles Émond, capture the fury of Quebecers who just learned their pension savings are bankrolling companies linked to what a UN report calls Gaza’s “genocide economy.” With over $9.6 billion invested in arms manufacturers and firms enabling Israel’s occupation—including Lockheed Martin, Caterpillar, and HD Hyundai—the Caisse has betrayed the very values it claims to uphold.
The Caisse de dépôt is financing genocide. Let that sink in.
Hypocrisy in Broad Daylight
The CDPQ proudly touts its commitment to “sustainable development” and “responsible investment.” Yet its actions tell another story: tripling down on Lockheed Martin (maker of bombs dropped on Gaza), quadrupling stakes in Caterpillar (whose bulldozers demolish Palestinian homes), and pouring 10× more into HD Hyundai (supplier of military equipment). This isn’t just tone-deaf—it’s complicity.
Quebecers have long demanded ethical stewardship of their money. The Caisse divested from fossil fuels and tobacco under public pressure. Why, then, does it cling to investments that violate international law and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)? As Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur, starkly warned: “For some, genocide is profitable.” The CDPQ must not be one of those “some.”
A Crisis of Leadership
Charles Émond’s silence is deafening. While Norway’s sovereign fund—cited in the same UN report—faces scrutiny for its $121.5 billion in problematic investments, Quebec’s CDPQ lacks even the fig leaf of transparency. Civil society groups like Urgence Palestine estimate the Caisse’s ties to 76 complicit companies total $27.4 billion. This isn’t passive investing; it’s active participation in a system Albanese calls “so structural, so pervasive, it must be dismantled.”
The message from Quebecers is clear: Not in our name. Pension funds exist to secure futures, not destroy them. If Émond refuses to divest, the Quebec government must intervene. As the CSN’s François Enault argued, “We can’t keep acting as if nothing is happening.”
The Path Forward
- Immediate divestment from all companies named in the UN report.
- Independent audit of CDPQ holdings against international law.
- Legislative action to bar public funds from financing human rights abuses.
Quebec’s values—solidarity, justice, peace—are non-negotiable. The CDPQ’s money belongs to workers, retirees, and families who never signed up to bankroll genocide. Game over, indeed. It’s time to clean house.
