Canadian banks continue to hold shares in the weapons companies profiting from Israel’s ongoing assault against Gaza
Photo: Sarah Abdul-Karim, a member of the Palestinian Youth Movement, spoke about RBC investments in weapons companies at this rally in Ottawa on April 6.
Six months after Israel’s assault on Palestine began, Canadian banks continue to invest in the weapons companies arming the Israeli military.
The numbers are staggering: 33,137 Palestinians have been killed and more than 75,815 injured. More than 13,800 children have been killed and 17,000 are currently unaccompanied or separated from their parents. 1,000 children have lost one or both of their legs. 1.9 million Palestinians have been internally displaced and nearly the whole population of 2.3 million face starvation. Furthermore, 62 per cent of all homes in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed, there has been $18.5 billion in damage to public infrastructure, and 26 million tonnes of debris have been left by the destruction.
The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) has highlighted that weapons companies are profiting from this death and destruction.
This is the situation three months after the International Court of Justice recognized (on January 26) that Israel’s acts could amount to genocide, weeks after UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese concluded (on March 26) there are reasonable grounds genocide is being committed, and days after the UN Human Rights Council voted (on April 5) to cease the sale, transfer and diversion of arms, munitions and other military equipment to Israel.
Notably, the Royal Bank of Canada holds $809 million in stock in General Dynamics, the company that manufactured F-16 fighter jets for the Israeli air force and the MK84 and MK82 bombs those planes continue to drop on Gaza.
Furthermore, other Canadian banks that hold General Dynamics stock include the Bank of Montreal (at $370 million), the Toronto Dominion Bank ($170 million), the National Bank of Canada ($95 million), TD Waterhouse Canada ($84 million), TD Asset Management Inc. ($80 million), Bank of Nova Scotia ($72 million), CIBC Asset Management Inc. ($51 million), and CIBC World Markets Inc. ($48 million).
It has also been highlighted that the Bank of Nova Scotia has held up to $500 million in stock in Elbit Systems, one of the primary suppliers of weapons systems to the Israeli military, including the Skylark and Hermes military drones used extensively in Gaza.
The Bank of Montreal, TD, the Royal Bank of Canada, and the National Bank of Canada are also implicated in holding millions of dollars in shares in the company.
The United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights states: “The responsibility to respect human rights is a global standard of expected conduct for all business enterprises wherever they operate.”
The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights also highlight: “[This responsibility] exists independently of States’ abilities and/or willingness to fulfil their own human rights obligations and does not diminish those obligations. And it exists over and above compliance with national laws and regulations protecting human rights.”
Peace Brigades International has called on the international community to suspend the supply of arms to Israel and to show its strong support for institutions of global justice, including the International Court of Justice.
We continue to follow this.
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