Illegal US-UK-France Air Strikes against Syria, April 2018:
CPP Investments in the Cruise Missiles
and other Weapons used in the Attack

The Canada Pension Plan (CPP) now has $207 million invested in
the nine weapons manufacturers that built all of the cruise missiles,
warplanes, warships, and the submarine used in air strike against Syria

By Richard Sanders, coordinator, Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade (COAT)

Foreword: Warmongering has always been a booming industry and, whether we like it or not, millions of working Canadians are profiting from financial complicity in war. Since the Liberal government changed the CPP and started investing our pension money in the stock market, the mandate of the CPP Investment Board (CPPIB)has been, it says, to achieve a "maximum rate of return, without undue risk of loss." But the loss of life, the environment, human rights, health and democracy, is not the CPPIB's concern, only the loss of money and potential profits. While the CPPIB claims that it does not invest in anything illegal, it is legally bound to ignore ethical issues. As a result, it has invested Canadians' retirement savings in many of the world's most profitable war industries, including those engaged in nuclear weapons production. This is simply war business as usual. The CPPIB is legally tied by its fiduciary responsibility, mandated by Canada's parliament, to invest in the most lucrative businesses on earth.  Whether these industries cause "collateral damage" (which economists dismiss with the term "externalities") is not of their concern. The CPP portfolio includes many of the world's worst polluters, oil, mining, uranium and sweat-shop profiteers, big pharma, and one of the biggest killers on earth, tobacco products. The CPP represents capitalism at its predatory best. We cannot expect it to become "ethical," as this is external to the capitalist system in which it operates. That said, we -- as citizens -- need to take heed and to equip ourselves with the facts.... Forewarned is forearmed!

CPP Investments in the Nine Corporations that manufactured all the Cruise Missiles and other Weapons used to Attack Syria

The Canada Pension Plan (CPP) currently owns $207 million in the nine huge war industries that built all of the cruise missiles, and the numerous warplanes, warships and one submarine that were used in the April 13, 2018, air strike against Syria's alleged chemical weapons facility. This destroyed the facility on the very day that international inspectors were arriving to see if there was any actual evidence of Syria's use of chemical weapons.

The main weapons used in the attack against Syria were 105 cruise missiles.(1) This included 66 Tomahawk cruise missiles built by Raytheon (US), the world's fourth largest weapons manufacturer. 

The Canada Pension Plan (CPP) now owns $36 million worth of shares in Raytheon.

The Raytheon-built missiles were fired from: (A) three US Navy warships, and (B) one US submarine:

(A) Three US Navy warships:
* USS Monterey (CG-61), a Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser, fired 30 Tomahawks
* USS Laboon (DDG-58), a Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, fired 7 Tomahawks
* USS Higgins (DDG-76), a Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, fired 23 Tomahawks

These three warships were built by Bath Iron Works, a subsidiary of General Dynamics, in Maine, USA.  General Dynamics is the world's sixth largest weapons manufacturer. 

The CPP now owns $30 million worth of shares in General Dynamics.

(B) One US submarine:
* USS John Warner (SSN-785), a Virginia-class submarine, fired 6 Tomahawk cruise missiles.

This submarine was built by Newport News Shipbuilding a major division of Huntington Ingalls Industries (US), the world's sixteenth largest weapons manufacturer. 

The CPP now owns $26 million worth of shares in Huntington Ingalls Industries.

Among the 105 cruise missiles that were used in the attack on Syria there were 19 JASSM-ER cruise missiles.  These were launched from US B-1 bombers, known as "Lancers.".

B-1 heavy bombers -- part of the nuclear weapons arsenal since 1986 -- are built by Lockheed Martin (US), the world's largest weapons manufacturer.

The CPP now owns $57 million worth of shares in Lockheed Martin.

To protect them on their mission against Syria, these US B-1 bombers were accompanied by a single EA-6B warplane.  EA-6Bs, nicknamed "Prowlers," are designed to conduct electronic warfare.  They are built by Northrop Grumman (US), the world's fifth largest weapons manufacturer.

The CPP now owns $10 million worth of shares in Northrop Grumman.

Weapons and
Weapons-Delivery Systems
used in
April 13, 2018,
Air Strike
against Syria

(US)

(UK)

(US)

(US)

(US)

(Nether-
lands)

Owns 37.5% of MBDA, (that built the  SCALP missiles fired by UK and France)

(Italy)

(US)

(France)

The 105 cruise missiles used in the attack on Syria also included some that were made in France.  For example, 3 French Naval SCALP cruise missiles were fired from a French warship.  This vessel, a "Longuedoc" frigate, was built by MBDA (France).  MBDA is co-owned by three large war industries based in western Europe:
(1) Airbus, (2) BAE Systems and (3) Leonard:

(1) Airbus (Netherlands) owns 37.5% of MBDA.  (Airbus is the world's seventh largest weapons manufacturer.)

The CPP now owns $11 million worth of shares in the major French subsidiary of Airbus (i.e., Airbus SE).

(2) BAE Systems (UK) owns 37.5% of MBDA.  (BAE Systems is the world's third largest weapons manufacturer.)

The CPP now owns $33 million worth of shares in BAE Systems.

(3) Leonardo (Italy) owns 25% of MBDA.  (Leonardo is the world's ninth  largest weapons manufacturer.)

The CPP now owns $12 million worth of shares in Leonardo.

The assault on Syria also included 9 SCALP/Storm Shadow (SS) cruise missiles that were also built by MBDA.

Seven of these SCALP/SS missiles were fired from French Air Force "Rafale" jets. These "Rafale" fighter jets were built by Dassault Aviation (France).

Rafale fighter jets were accompanied on their mission to attack Syria by "Mirage" fighters jets. These warplanes provided protection to the "Rafale" jets.  "Mirage" warplanes are built by Dassault Aviation (France), the world's 51st largest weapons manufacturer.

The CPP now owns $2 million worth of shares in Dassault Aviation.

An additional 8 SCALP/SS cruise missiles, built by MBDA, were fired from 4 of Britain's Royal Air Force "Tornado" jets.  These "Tornado" GR4 fighter jets were built by Panavia Aircraft (Germany).

Panavia Aircraft is owned by the same three European weapons manufacturers that own MBDA (France). 
(See the data above regarding the CPP investments in these three corporations.):

The Owners of Panavia Aircraft (Germany) are:
* Airbus Defence and Space (Germany) owns 42.5% of Panavia (Airbus D&S is a major subsidiary of Airbus.)
* BAE Systems (UK) owns 42.5% of Panavia
* Leonardo Aircraft Division (Italy) owns 15% of Panavia.

Notes
1.  Air launched cruise missiles have been tested in "Canadian airspace" since 1983, when the elder Trudeau's Liberal government signed a Canada-US weapons testing agreement.  This was renewed for ten years in 1993 by the Liberal's Chrétien government. The Canadian government has also allowed US and other NATO countries to test their fighter/bomber warplanes over Canada and has allowed NATO pilots to do their flight training over Indigenous territories that have never been ceded to Canada by any treaties or other legal instruments.) 

2.  The CPP's investment is in the major French subsidiary of Airbus, i.e., Airbus SE.

Sources
George Allison, "The Western cruise missile strike against Syria by the numbers," UK Defence Journal, April 15, 2018
https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/the-western-cruise-missile-strike-against-syria-by-the-numbers/

Aaron Mehta and Tara Copp, "Coalition launched 105 weapons against Syria, with none intercepted, DoD says," Military Times, April 14, 2018.
https://www.militarytimes.com/pentagon/2018/04/14/us-launched-105-weapons-against-syria-with-none-intercepted-dod-says/

Brad Lendon, "Weapons the US, UK and France used to target Syria Brad Lendon-Profile-Image," CNN, April 15, 2018.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/14/politics/syria-airstrikes-weapons-used-intl/index.html

Foreign Publicly-Traded Equity Holdings, Canada Pension Plan, 2017-2018
http://www.cppib.com/documents/1606/foreign_publicequityholdings_Mar2017_en.htm

Here are some COAT Tables about CPP investments in war industries and other unsustainable corporations

These Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade (COAT) tables detail
CPP investments in  2017/2018:

* $360 million in the world's top ten war industries (nine of which went up thanks to the April 2018 air strikes against Syria)

* $1.3 Billion in 36 of the World's Top-100 War Industries

* $451 Million in 14 Nuclear-Weapons Producers

* $495 Million in 14 F35-Warplane Contractors

* Top Mining ($980 Million), Oil ($1.4 Billion), & Tobacco ($1.7 Billion) Companies

* $8.38 Billion in the "World's 20 Worst Companies"

These COAT tables detail some of the CPP's 2016 investments:

* $11 Billion in banks making US$313 billion available to 26 nuclear-bomb makers

* $5.5 Billion in firms supporting Israeli Apartheid

* $6.8 Billion in banks making US$18.7 Billion available to 7 cluster-bomb makers.