Principal's Review Committee for Responsible Investing

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS AND CONSULTATION QUESTIONS

Consultation is a central part of the mandate of the review committee, and it therefore invites those with interest or expertise to submit views or evidence that might inform its deliberations. The committee will be considering both written submissions and requests for an opportunity to make in-person presentations. The committee is particularly interested in hearing views on the following questions:

1. Should the university divest its pooled endowment and investment funds from companies for conducting business in or with the State of Israel?
2. Should the university adopt a screening process that would potentially preclude future investments based on their business in or with the State of Israel? 

The committee will assess submissions against the criteria detailed in the special request section of the Responsible Investing Policy. The factors that the Review Committee will consider include, but are not limited to:

• Consistency with existing University policies or objectives;
• Feasibility (e.g. the amount of resources involved to address the issues raised in the request);
• Materiality of the request to the overall investment portfolios;
• Whether there is duplication of past requests and/or whether there have been material changes that would warrant reconsidering past requests. For greater certainty, past requests may be considered if there have been material changes to the underlying facts, environment, or best-practices that would warrant re-consideration; and
• Whether the issue is better addressed using other levers available to the University.

Along with the above criteria, the committee will also be assessing the impact the special request may have on the risk and return profile of the university’s investment portfolio.

SUBMISSIONS & IN-PERSON PRESENTATION REQUESTS

Interested parties are invited to share submissions using the web form below, no later than September 30, 2024. Although there is no maximum length applied to these submissions, the committee encourages all those interested to keep their submission respectful and as concise as possible to facilitate their review and consideration. The use of appendices can be considered to help with conciseness. 

All submissions received will be reviewed and carefully considered by the committee and they will not be shared publicly. However, groups or individuals who wish to share their written submissions with others on their own may do so. Please note anonymous or duplicate submissions to the committee will not be considered. 

• Submission Form

Those who are interested in making an in-person presentation to the committee at one of its future consultation meetings in October are invited to submit a request by September 15, using the appropriate webform below. Only unique requests using this webform will be considered. Please note all in-person presentations will be held in-camera with the committee.  

• In-Person Presentation Request

Further information regarding the review committee can also be found below, including its terms of reference and membership. If you have any questions on either the written submission or in-person presentations, you can send them to RVWCTTE@queensu.ca.

Terms of Reference

On May 9, 2024, the university received a document titled “Divestment Recommendations for Companies that Facilitate the Israeli Occupation of Palestinian Territories.”  The document was prepared by a group of community members identifying themselves as the Queen's Apartheid Divest Coalition (QUAD).  QUAD requested that the document be considered as a formal submission for a special request for divestment per Procedure 2 – Special Requests of Queen’s Responsible Investing Policy.

The petition was reviewed by the University Secretariat.  Once the University Secretariat verified that the signatures met the requirements set out in the Procedure, Queen’s Principal, Dr. Patrick Deane, established a Principal’s Review Committee for Responsible Investing.  

Advisory Committee Mandate
The Committee’s work will focus on conducting a comprehensive assessment of QUAD’s request for divestment and negative screening, in accordance with the Responsible Investing Policy, and will be guided by the Fiduciary Responsibilities, of the Board of Trustees (see section II of the Board’s Code of Conduct); the consideration of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) issues, and all other factors defined in that Policy.

• The Committee will conduct a review of similar submissions for divestment received by other Canadian universities and any analysis and conclusions by those universities.
• The Committee will consult the Queen’s community to ensure a thorough understanding of the impact and issues raised by the request. 
• The factors that the Review Committee will consider include, but will not be limited to:
  • Consistency of the requests with existing university policies or objectives;
  • Feasibility of the requests (e.g., the amount of resources involved to address the issues raised in the requests);
  • Materiality of the requests to the overall investment portfolios;
  • Whether the requests are a duplication of past requests; and
  • Whether the issue is better addressed using other levers available to the university.

The Committee is advisory to the Principal. The Principal is not involved in the Committee’s work or its deliberations. The Committee will prepare and submit to the Principal a response detailing its recommendation(s), which may include, but are not limited to, suggestions for ensuring the relevant Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Factors are considered in the investment process, suggestions for alternative non-investment related approaches.

Upon receiving the recommendation(s) from the Principal’s Review Committee for Responsible Investing, the Principal will provide the recommendation(s) to the Investment Committee of the Board of Trustees.  The Investment Committee will review the submission provided by the Principal’s Review Committee for Responsible Investing and make recommendations, if any, to the Board of Trustees for final decision.  Decisions of the Principal’s Review Committee, along with the rationale for decisions, will be publicly reported on the University website.

Membership

• Chancellor Emeritus Jim Leech – Committee Chair
• Todd Mattina - Chair, Investment Committee, Board of Trustees
• Don Raymond – Chair Emeritus, Board of Trustees and Investment Committee
• Bob Watts - Governance & Nominating Committee, Board of Trustees and Adjunct Professor, School of Policy Studies
• Vicki Remenda - Faculty Trustee
• Nancy Evans - Staff Trustee
• Rector Niki Boytchuk-Hale - Rector and Student Trustee
• Jonathan Rose - Professor and Head, Department of Political Studies
• Lynne-Marie Postovit - Professor and Head, Biomedical and Molecular Sciences

Secretary:  Kate Bearse

Non-voting Advisors:

• Michael Fraser, Vice-Principal (University Relations)
• Donna Janiec, Vice-Principal (Finance and administration
• Heather Woermke, Associate Vice-Principal (Finance and Administration)
• Brian O’Neill, Director, Investment Services 
• Rebecca Coupland, University Secretary

Timeline

The Committee shall begin its work in June of 2024 and will endeavour to complete this work expeditiously. Upon submission of its recommendations to the Principal, the Committee shall be dissolved, though it may be called together informally thereafter to either clarify or expand on its recommendations.

Meetings

The Committee shall meet at the call of the Chair and may meet in person, by video conference, or other electronic or digital means as determined by the Chair.

Confidentiality

All members of the Committee will be required to sign a Confidentiality Undertaking and Queen’s University Board of Trustees Code of Conduct that outlines their responsibilities as Committee members and Advisors and expectations related to confidentiality, collegiality, and conflicts of interest.
 

Committee Members

• Chancellor Emeritus Jim Leech – Committee Chair
• Todd Mattina (Chair, Investment Committee, Board of Trustees)
• Don Raymond (Chair Emeritus of the Board of Trustees, Investment Committee member)
• Bob Watts (Governance & Nominating Committee member, Board of Trustees, and Adjunct Professor, School of Policy Studies)
• Vicki Remenda (Faculty-Elected Trustee)
• Nancy Evans (Staff-Elected Trustee)
• Niki Boytchuk-Hale (Rector and Trustee)
• Jonathan Rose (Professor and Head, Department of Political Studies)
• Lynne-Marie Postovit (Professor and Head, Biomedical and Molecular Sciences)

Non-Voting Advisors:

• Michael Fraser (Vice-Principal, University Relations)
• Donna Janiec (Vice-Principal, Finance and Administration)
• Brian O’Neill (Director, Investments)
• Heather Woermke (Associate Vice-Principal, Finance and Administration)
• Rebecca Coupland (University Secretary)

Queen's Gazette, June 3, 2024 - University Establishes Committee