By: April Smith, SFU Student
Scotiabank recently reduced its holdings in Israeli military technology company Elbit Systems following a series of protests that took place across Canada spanning March through June. According to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, their holdings have dropped from shares valued at $237 million in May to $113 million in August. In March, 1832 Asset Management, the subsidiary responsible for making these investments on behalf of Scotiabank, also reduced its holdings in Elbit.
This comes after increasing pressure from activists across Canada. In an interview with The Peak, Tamer Aburamadan, a local Palestinian activist, described his role in the most recent series of protests as a movement organizer. He and many other organizers helped orchestrate a pressure campaign that would target several Scotiabank locations, pushing the bank to completely divest from Elbit.
“Unfortunately, Canada is complicit in many ways with the ongoing genocide in Palestine, both at the governmental level, but also the corporate institutional level. The investment in Elbit Systems is a good example of that and there should be no profit off genocide and off the murder of civilians in Gaza and elsewhere,” said Aburamadan.
“Therefore, the need is there to apply outside pressure,” he continued, explaining the rationale behind the protests. According to their most recent quarterly financial report, Scotiabank’s total assets were valued at over $1.4 trillion as of July 31, 2024.
On March 15, protesters gathered at over 28 Scotiabank locations across the country. Protests were held in cities including Toronto, Regina, Nanaimo, and Vancouver. The most recent day of action, on June 25, saw similar protest activity.
“Unfortunately, Canada is complicit in many ways with the ongoing genocide in Palestine, both at the governmental level but also the corporate institutional level.” — Tamer Aburamadan, local Palestinian activist
Scotiabank stated they are not responsible for the subsidiary’s decision to divest and that it was a decision made irrespective of the protests. They said the decision was based only on “investment merit” and they do not “directly hold the shares” or “interfere in the independent investment decisions of its portfolio managers, including at its subsidiary 1832 Asset Management.” The Peak reached out to Scotiabank for a statement but did not receive a response by the publication deadline.
“We’re disappointed because we’d prefer that they acknowledge that investing in weapons manufacturers and profiting off the murder of innocent civilians is not in accordance with their values as a company and their mission and vision. But unfortunately, they decided not to go down that route,” stated Aburamadan, regarding Scotiabank.
While the progress made to push Scotiabank to divest has been motivating to people like Aburamadan, he explained that many activists across the country will not stop applying pressure until the share is reduced to zero. Scotiabank currently holds 1.44% of Elbit shares. Aburamadan says upcoming protests to target Scotiabank are in the works.
“I would encourage all Canadians to raise their voice and join in whatever way they can because being involved, being active, and speaking on behalf of your values does work and there are things that you can do to stop the ongoing bloodshed and genocide.”
