Divestment protesters blocked the intersection of Wesbrook and University Boulevard for three hours last Thursday, causing a buildup of traffic and stirring frustration on the second-to-last day of classes. And although protesters indicated actions like these will continue until their demands are met, UBC did not have much to say about the affair.
The Dec. 4 protest called on UBC to direct its investment managers to divest from companies complicit in Israeli human rights abuses in Gaza and the West Bank. In a statement, university spokesperson Matthew Ramsay said UBC has been “consistent” in its “approach to responsible investment,” adding “we have communicated our progress in this area with our community via our VP Finance.”
“We have tried the letters, we have tried the petition. We have tried the peaceful process. We have tried the motion, we are given no respect,” protesters cried during the event.
Protest was one of many divestment-related actions on campus
Over the past two years, the Palestine solidarity movement, which consists of a number of groups on campus, has delivered petitions; signed open letters; held a two-month encampment on McInnes Field; held vigils; successfully campaigned for a referendum to have the AMS endorse a two-day strike; occupied the offices of Go Global, the Alumni Centre and President Benoit-Antoine Bacon; and held multiple protests calling on UBC to condemn Israeli human rights abuses and genocide against the Palestinian people, and divest from complicit companies.
During the encampment in 2024, Bacon released a statement saying the endowment “does not directly own any stocks in the companies identified by the [boycott, divest and sanction] movement.” Instead, "capital is held in pooled funds and managed by external investment managers.” After his office was occupied a week later, he released a further statement in response to protesters’ demands, encouraging “respectful and robust discussion” but downplaying the extent to which the university’s investments could be called into question.
Demonstrations continued through last Fall. On April 4 of this year, UBC published another statement about its investment practices, saying a working group had been put together in “late-2024” to formulate a “comprehensive Human Rights Framework.” Progress on that framework has become a regular subject at recent meetings of the Board of Governors. When the Board’s finance committee met in November, a 32-page primer on “social risks” in responsible investing was tabled, produced by the Shareholder Association for Research and Education.
The briefing to the committee says “significant progress” has been made in the past year, but does not commit to an expected implementation date.
Unlike the last intersection blockade, police did not intervene
Throughout the demonstration, between chants of “all the Zionists are racist” and “no more money for Israel's crimes,” protesters repeated to passersby, “We are not here to inconvenience you.”
UBC’s Ramsey said the university “respects the principle of peaceful protest on our campuses and the tenet of freedom of expression within UBC's student code of conduct, discrimination policy, and the law.”
A similar protest was held at the same intersection last May, with half the number of protesters but a much heavier police presence — officers from the Vancouver Police Department, Metro Vancouver Transit Police, BC Highway Patrol, Richmond RCMP and the controversial Critical Response Unit were all present that day. Police eventually marched forward to clear protesters from the road, and one protester was arrested when they refused to continue moving.
This time, RCMP and campus security redirected traffic and helped stuck cars and buses find their way out of the blocked roads — but no attempt was made to clear protesters.
Ramsay said the RCMP were best positioned to answer questions about the difference between this protest and the last one, given the intersection is “off campus.” It’s part of the University Endowment Lands — the unincorporated area between UBC and the City of Vancouver that is administered directly by the provincial government.
The RCMP did not respond to The Ubyssey’s questions.
Law professor Margot Young told The Ubyssey that police have discretion when making decisions about whether or not to clear a road being blocked in a demonstration, but the difference between the two situations isn’t immediately apparent to her. She did say, however, that letting the protest continue was the right thing to do.
“Provided the protests are respectful and adhere to the basic rights of tolerance that the BC Human Rights Code expresses, then universities should be precisely the place where you would expect [this] kind of engaged speech to take place,” said Young.
The day of the protest, demonstrators also helped direct cars that had parked down University Boulevard before the blockade happening and were now attempting to leave.
While transit was disrupted, students took to social media to warn others to budget more time in their commute or take an alternative route. Reddit users expressed frustration about the disruption as the term came to a close, and when many had presentations or midterms to get to. One student began yelling at protesters, calling, “Bring the buses back.” He said he was 40 minutes late to his final lab.
An elderly man attempting to get to UBC’s hospital for an appointment said the protest was targeting the wrong crowd. “I’m all for Palestine,” he said, but the protesters' disruptions were “alienating the people that support them.”
Young said creating inconvenience is part of the power of political protest. “If they don't occur in a manner [where] people have to take note of them, then you have [a] less rich and full political conversation on campus.”
At about 11 a.m., protesters began walking down University Boulevard towards the Robert H. Lee Alumni Centre, where the Board of Governors had begun a meeting. The building was locked, and campus security officers were posted at the doors. Protesters stood outside, continuing their chants.
At noon, the protest dispersed.
“We had some really productive conversations … This is just one more step, and there will be many, many other steps, and we hope that if you're listening next time you will be with us,” said one protester, concluding the event.
