LETTER – Divestment proposal submitted to TRU administrators
On June 14, 2024, Thompson Rivers University (TRU) publicly disclosed their investments on their website in response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request the People’s University of Gaza at TRU submitted in May.
Over the summer and fall, our small team worked to analyze TRU’s investment documents as thoroughly as possible. With the support of allied TRU Faculty members and community experts, we prepared a divestment proposal which was sent to President Brett Fairbairn and other TRU administrators this afternoon.
Unfortunately, knowing the exact dollar amount that TRU is investing in companies that are complicit in the surveillance, occupation, human rights violations, and murder of Palestinians was difficult to assess, even by financial professionals, because many of these investments are tied up in mutual funds. That being said, we were able to identify several problematic companies and have brought that to TRU’s attention.
We have asked that the TRU administration review this document and schedule a meeting with us by January 31, 2025 to discuss what actions TRU will be taking. We are hopeful that TRU will take the ethical steps necessary to divest from companies that harm human life and the climate.
Kind Regards,
Students of the People’s University of Gaza at TRU
ArmchairMayor.ca 
Hamas gets its weapons from Iran and North Korea which are sanctioned by Canada, so TRU couldn’t possibly invest in companies supplying weapons to “Hamas”.
Also, the International Court of Justice (the world’s highest court) has ruled that Israel is committing “plausible genocide”, not Hamas. Which means that nations and institutions around the world have a LEGAL obligation to ensure they are not investing in complicit companies.
Instead of bullying ethical and moral students online, perhaps focus more on educating yourself of the real issues.
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Has the People’s University of Gaza bothered to investigate how much money and weaponry Hamas is getting from Iran to murder Israelis? Didn’t think so. This is a sick and savage conflict with plenty of fault on both sides, but to lay all of this at the feet of Israel and by extension TRU is beyond the pale. Get over yourself, go to class, and learn something useful. If all you want to be is a protestor, you don’t need to take up seats in a university or have a university degree for that, and, bonus, you can do it elsewhere. Maybe in Gaza…
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