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Foundations are created for the purpose of creating "separation" (or the appearance of such) from organizations like the University. In reality, foundations are nowhere near as separate an entity as they would like us to believe. The Foundation exists solely for the University of Winnipeg. If the UW did not exist, the Foundation would have no other purpose. Vice-Chancellor Mondor is absolutely not communicating in “good faith” as he claims when he is hiding behind technicalities rather than offering transparency.
*Notice he had to include the word “direct” when Vice-Chancellor Mondor claimed the UW foundation has no direct investments. Of course they don’t have direct investments, that’s not how investments work, but he’s counting on people not understanding that. People and organizations invest in stocks of companies, those investments then directly benefit those companies. The UW foundation uses asset management companies (as most large organizations who manage millions of dollars do). Their investments *do* financially support the genocide.
I fully acknowledge that the state (government and law-makers) of Palestine has anti-2s+LGBTQ laws which are very harmful and dangerous to the queer community. People can be jailed or even killed for being openly gay.
I want to also make very clear that we can be in support of liberating people, of freeing HUMANS from acts of genocide, while also being against a country's anti-2s+LGBTQ laws. Neurodiversity Manitoba supports and actively advocates for diverse, democratic, inclusive, and safe communities for all people.
University of Winnipeg President – president@uwinnipeg.ca
Vice President - p.radia@uwinnipeg.ca
Vice President Assistant - b.doran@uwinnipeg.ca
Vice President, Finance and Administration - n.basra@uwinnipeg.ca
Vice President, Engagement - d.dunbar@uwinnipeg.ca
CEO, University of Winnipeg Foundation - ceo.uwf@uwinnipeg.ca
Director of Risk Management - m.grainger@uwinnipeg.ca
I am writing to you today to express my support for the People's University for Palestine Treaty 1. The University materially and ideologically supports genocide and is a complacent beneficiary. I see this as an unethical and unconscionable use of the University's finances—public funding, some of which come from my own pocket as a student. The University should immediately comply with the encampment's demands, which are as follows:
DISCLOSE
The University of Winnipeg has an obligation of financial transparency to all its students, workers, and community members. We demand that the Board of Regents disclose all investments held in endowments, short-term working capital assets, and other financial workings of the University hereafter.
DIVEST
We demand that the University of Winnipeg divest its endowment, capital assets, and other financial holdings from all companies complicit in Israeli apartheid and illegal occupation, and cut all academic and economic ties with Israeli institutions in accordance with the global Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement. This includes, but is not limited to, ongoing relationships with weapons manufacturer Boeing and funders such as the Asper Foundation, as well as Endowment Fund investments in companies such as the Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto-Dominion Bank, Bank of Montreal, ASML Holdings, CCL Industries, PepsiCo, Metro Inc, and Nestlé.
DEFEND
We demand that no repercussions or disciplinary charges are aimed at students, staff, or faculty of the University of Winnipeg or the University of Manitoba as a result of any actions taken in support of Palestine.
DECLARE
We demand that the University issue a statement immediately condemning the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people, including the scholasticide in Gaza, and calling on the Canadian government to immediately cease all military contracts with Israel. As the investments that fuel Israeli apartheid likewise advance the settler-colonial project on stolen Indigenous land, this statement must also declare support for searching the landfill for missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and Two-Spirit people, and must condemn the ongoing killing of our Indigenous relatives.
MAKE REPARATIONS
I also wish to express my deep disappointment in the statement sent out by email yesterday on behalf of the Vice Chancellor of the University of Winnipeg, Dr. Todd Mondor.
The email states, “We respect the right to peaceful protest and assembly within the bounds of law and UWinnipeg policies. However, setting up tents and other temporary structures on UWinnipeg premises without permission is in violation of established University policies, health and safety guidelines, and the law. Permission to establish the encampment was not sought or granted, and no advance communication of any kind was received”.
It does not make sense to expect a group protesting against how the university spends its money (public funds from the government and our tuition dollars) to follow the limited and limiting rules set out by that same university which attempts to dictate exactly how they should or should not protest peacefully.
The email also states, “To ensure the safety of all UWinnipeg community members, those seeking access to campus buildings will be asked to provide identification. Access will be limited to current students, staff and faculty and to visitors attending for a legitimate academic purpose”.
UW once had public-access computers outside of the library for the public to come in and use. Now they want people to wait in a long line to have someone check their ID, and have to justify their presence on campus to an inadequately trained pseudo-authority, who represents oppressors such as the police, security forces, and para-policing organizations.
I understand that safety must be a top priority, however the University and its representatives (such as campus security) are misusing the perception of a threat as an excuse to overstep the boundaries of their authority.
PROTECT THE PROTESTORS
As both a citizen and student, I demand the University cease its overzealous policing and monitoring of protestors, and immediately direct its security team to cease their unnecessary and unprofessional attempts to intimidate protestors. Instead, the University must make a strong statement against the genocidal actions being perpetrated by the IOF in Palestine, in addition to meeting the demands listed above.
Civil disobedience is a form of peaceful protest. I’ve been relatively quiet on the issues happening in Gaza and across Palestine. This is not because I’m worried about controversy, anyone who reads my work will know I am not afraid of speaking my mind.
Institutes of Higher Learning are supposed to teach us critical and independent thinking skills. As citizens and students whose tax and tuition dollars support the university, we all have the right to know exactly where those funds are being invested and the types of companies they are supporting.
UW foundation INVESTMENTS
A full list of all companies in which the UW foundation had investments as of December 2023
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