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Doctors of the World ended their break-out meeting early as a move of solidarity with the protesters

Early on Friday, The University of Ottawa announced an updated list of investments will be released on June 1; meanwhile, pro-Palestinian student protesters disrupted Congrès de l’Acfas meetings being held on campus as the encampment on Tabaret Lawn nears its third weekend.

INSAF (Arabic translation: justice or equity) and the Palestinian Students Association (PSA) announced through a joint Instagram statement that the U of O administration had agreed to publicly disclose their investments by Saturday, June 1. The date for disclosure was released as promised on May 16, following organizer meetings with the university’s chief investment officer, Francois Dionne.

“We, as student organizers, are in dialogue with admin[istration] about divestment,” the statement reads. “That means we need our communities’ ongoing support until the divestment demands are met.”

Friday also marked the final day of the 91st Congrès de l’Acfas, a Francophone scientific research conference held at the university from May 13-17. Student protesters disrupted meetings in four classrooms in Lamoureux Hall and Vanier Hall with speeches demanding the U of O divest from Israeli companies A video from INSAF’s Instagram account shows protesters interrupting a meeting, with one explaining “there can be no more business as usual.”

The speaker continued, saying “I would invite everyone here to remind the university to listen to student demands.” He then apologized to attendees for the disruption, before noting their presence was because of the genocide going on in Gaza. 

The post also noted that a Doctors without Borders lecture “was canceled in solidarity with the students” — though sources later clarified to the Fulcrum that it was actually Médecins du monde, or Doctors of the World, who gave support to the protesters. Sources told the Fulcrum the Acfas meeting members were “very polite” and even clapped after the speech in at least one classroom.

At around 2:15, protesters made their way to University Square with a banner that read “No more money for Israel’s genocide”, a speaker, and a megaphone. There, a group of protesters stood on a platform with red-painted hands raised up as other protesters spoke and led chants.

The speakers acknowledged the university’s agreement to disclose their divestments, but restated their three other demands: complete divestments from “any and all corporations involved directly and indirectly in the surveillance, occupation, and murder of Palestinians in both Gaza and the West Bank; severing ties with “academic Zionist institutions”; and adopting the Arab Canadian Lawyers Association’s definition of anti-Palestinian racism.

Back at Tabaret Lawn, the day continued with a teach-in from Dara Joy, an undergraduate student at the U of O, on “Anishinabe Perspectives on Solidarity”. In her speech, Joy compared the mass graves of Indigenous people in Canada to those in Palestine, noting the “thousands of bloodlines, thousands of legacies, thousands of stories lost.”

Joy continued “these oppressive systems claim Indigenous land as their own and then hoard the benefits that they claim to generate, while leaving the world in shambles.”

After Joy’s speech, Awema Tendesi and Jordon Jacko of Eagle River Group from Kitigan Zibi and Barrier Lake performed powwow drumming to bless the land and the protest on Tabaret Lawn.

The day concluded with a chant circle and prayers.

• With files from Kavi Vidya Achar and Daniel Jones

Clarification: an earlier version of this story incorrectly labelled the group who stopped their meeting in solidarity with protesters as Doctors Without Borders. The organization was actually Médecins du monde, or Doctors of the World.