On May 8, the University of Toronto Faculty Association (UTFA) approved a motion calling on the University Pension Plan (UPP) to divest from the manufacture of weapons used by Israel to commit “crimes against humanity” in the Occupied Palestinian Territories of Gaza and the West Bank. The vote, which took place at a member-initiated General Meeting, saw a turnout of 1,365 of roughly 3,500 members. The motion passed with 52 per cent in favour, 43 per cent opposed, and five per cent abstaining.

The motion and its context

The motion called on the UPP to implement an accelerated timeline to divest from all entities that manufacture weapons used in violations of international humanitarian and human rights law, terrorism, organized crime, and violence against women and children.

This vote comes over a year and a half after the start of the armed conflict in Gaza, during which over 55,000 Palestinians have been killed — more than half of whom are women and children — and over 1.9 million people have been displaced.

The motion also calls for divestment from entities that facilitate Israel’s illegal occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and any other illegal occupations, such as Russia’s occupation of the Crimean Peninsula. 

The inclusion of illegal occupation as grounds for divestment parallels the UN General Assembly’s September 2024 resolution calling on Israel to “cease immediately all new settlement activities, and to evacuate all settlers from the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” and withdraw its military forces from the area, in accordance with international law.

The UTFA Divest my UPP campaign faced opposition leading up to the vote. On May 5, an anonymous sender using a Rotman U of T account emailed some faculty with the subject line “Vote NO on May 8.” 

Tensions intensified during the meeting. The Globe and Mail reported that organizers were asked to moderate the online chat after emojis of guns and pagers were posted, sparking concerns. 

The member-initiated meeting was requested by 50 general members in good standing, in accordance with Article 10.2.iv of the UTFA Constitution. Turnout was exceptionally high, with 1,365 of approximately 3,500 registered members participating. In contrast, just two days before the 2024 Annual General Meeting (AGM), the UTFA reported only 400 registered attendees. The 2023 AGM minutes highlighted that “over 600 members registered,” calling it “one of the biggest turnouts ever for an UTFA annual meeting.”

Passage does not guarantee divestment

The UPP manages the pensions of over 41,000 members across 14 sector organizations and five Ontario universities: U of T, University of Guelph, Queen’s University, Trent University, and Victoria University — one of U of T’s three federated universities.

The UTFA is an independent organization that represents and engages in collective bargaining on behalf of U of T faculty and librarians. 

The UTFA Divest my UPP Campaign, organized by UTFA members, drafted the divestment motion in December 2024, eventually securing signatures from 282 faculty and 38 librarians across 35 constituencies and all three campuses. Of these, 121 signatures came from faculty in humanities constituencies, 93 from social sciences, and a mere 21 from physical and life sciences, engineering, and mathematics. Only one faculty member from the Rotman School of Management signed the divestment pledge. 

Despite the campaign’s win at the General Meeting, the motion’s passage does not guarantee divestment. Although the UTFA is a major stakeholder in the UPP and holds a permanent seat on the UPP Employee Sponsor Committee, the association can only advocate for divestment on behalf of faculty and librarians and has no direct control over UPP investments. 

On its website, the campaign stresses that the vote, “sends a signal” to the UPP Joint Sponsor Committee — the body responsible for making investment decisions — “that this is an issue that requires attention and deliberation.” However, it acknowledges that “ultimately, it will be up to the relevant UPP organs to decide whether, when, and how to divest.”

In March 2022, less than three weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine, the UPP placed exclusions on Russian investments. The UPP’s Investment Exclusion policy bars investment in entities that produce weapons in violation of Canada’s treaties or that cause or contribute to “severe adverse social or environmental impacts.” In a statement released at the time, UPP Managing Director, Strategic Communications and External Relations Kelly Conlan wrote, “We have made our position clear – breaches of international law have no place in UPP’s portfolio.”