McGill University is proposing to review its investment in weapons manufacturers and grant amnesty to protesting students as part of a new offer to members of a pro-Palestinian encampment on its Montreal campus. A man reads a sign of demands posted outside a pro-Palestinian encampment set up on McGill University's campus in Montreal, Tuesday, April 30, 2024.Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press
McGill University is offering amnesty to pro-Palestinian protesters encamped on its downtown campus if they leave by the end of the week. The university said it will also explore divesting investments in arms makers who protesters say are aiding Israel’s war efforts in Gaza.
The university offered Tuesday to “grant a disciplinary amnesty to any McGill student or employee for participating in the encampment prior to June 15.” President and vice-chancellor Deep Saini wrote that the amnesty would not extend, however, to “the forceable entry into the James Administration Building, the destruction of property, vandalism, harassment, etc.”
Last Thursday, Montreal police intervened after protesters occupied the administration building. Officers dispersed protesters outside the building using tear gas, pepper spray and batons, and made 15 arrests.
McGill said it is also prepared to undertake a review of entities “that derive a dominant portion of their direct revenues from the production of military weapons” and eventually divest from those, Dr. Saini said in a message to the university community Tuesday.
According to its latest disclosure figures, McGill owns millions of dollars in equities in weapons and defence technology manufacturers such as Lockheed Martin, Thales SA and Safran SA.
The encampment and related actions are part of a wave of protests on campuses across North America and beyond in recent months in response to Israel’s assault on Gaza that followed Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
Some universities, including McGill, have asked the police and the courts to help them clear the encampments with minimal success. The schools have argued that they are disrupting life on their campuses, interfering with other students’ use of their schools and intimidating Jewish students.
Protesters have been calling on universities to disclose where their money is invested, divest from companies connected to the Israeli military and break ties with some Israeli universities.
On Tuesday, McGill also offered to “support scholars and students displaced or affected by crises in Gaza and elsewhere in the Middle East” through scholarships and increase investment disclosures to include holdings below $500,000.
Dr. Saini said McGill’s proposal “aligns fully with its principles and mission” and that similar offers have satisfied pro-Palestinian protesters at other university encampments.
On Tuesday, protesters at the encampment said they were discussing McGill’s offer and declined to provide further comment.