Court won’t order removal of McGill protest encampment

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As the anti-Israel protest encampment entered its fifth day, a Montreal court declined to issue an injunction that would have ordered protesters to disperse, throwing into question just how the McGill University administration and Montreal police are going to respond.

On Tuesday, two students asked Justice Chantal Masse to issue an order to force the protesters to remain 100 metres from McGill buildings — effectively ending the now-entrenched protest encampment on school grounds. Masse denied the request, noting that the lawyers who had opposed it argued it was “abusive and sought to silence all discussion that doesn’t fit within a frame that is pro-Israeli” and that the safety fears expressed by the two students were “relating more to subjective fears and discomfort than to precise and serious fears for their security.”

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“The court is of the opinion that the balance of inconveniences leans more toward the protesters, whose freedom of expression and to gather peacefully would be affected significantly,” Masse wrote in her 10-page decision.

“The injunction has been denied!” a protester screamed at the encampment, as protesters erupted in cheers.

Earlier this week, McGill president Deep Saini told students in an email that he had made the “gut-wrenching decision” to call in the police. So far, Montreal police have yet to act, but the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, a Jewish advocacy organization, claimed on social media that “the situation continues to escalate” at McGill.

“All we need to do is look to the (United States) to see where these protests are headed,” it said on the social media site X. “It is time to move beyond words and take the steps necessary to protect students on campus from the toxic hate and antisemitism.”

Following Masse’s ruling, the Montreal police posted on X that the force would “carefully analyze” the decision.

“We continue to evaluate possible avenues for the future, advocating a peaceful outcome,” it said.

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In a Wednesday email, Saini said the encampment includes “a variety of groups with no association with McGill.”

“This cannot be accepted and will not be allowed,” the email said.

The email also explained that Saini had offered the protest encampment a bargain: If they dismantle the encampment, Saini would hold a “forum with members of the McGill community” to discuss the demands.

“To those not affiliated with McGill, let me reiterate that you must leave McGill property immediately,” Saini said.

It has been five days since protesters set up their tents and erected their signs on Engineer’s Field at McGill. In that time, the university’s administration has been trying to displace them and called attention to allegations of antisemitism among protesters.

But in Montreal, where student protesters are no strangers to clashes with police, protesters have hunkered down. Extra fences have been brought in. The police, so far, have not moved. None of the Canadian campus protests have turned violent.

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This stands in stark contrast to protest movements in the United States, where, exactly 58 years after police cracked down on anti-Vietnam War protesters, the University of California, Los Angeles, saw a full-on battle royale after an anti-Israel protest camp was attacked by masked counter-protesters. In New York City, at Columbia University, where students had seized Hamilton Hall, the New York Police Department stormed the building, arresting dozens of protesters.

At McGill, protesters have huddled under tarps and in tents as rain and chilly spring weather have socked in Montreal. Pallets have been placed on the muddy lawn to provide walkways between the 75 or so tents. On the other side of the country, at the University of British Columbia, anti-Israel protesters have set up around 50 tents on an artificial turf sports field. There are portable toilets and water stations.

Both encampments have similar goals. They’re calling for an end to relationships between UBC and McGill and Israeli universities and the divestment of any university investments from companies that arm the Israeli military.

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But in Montreal, protesters are awaiting police action. In Vancouver, the police are on alert, but that’s all.

In response to the encampments — and more broadly protests since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel — some Jewish students and organizations have said they feel unsafe. Hillel BC, an organization that supports Jewish life on university campuses, said in an Instagram post that it is monitoring the UBC protest, and requested that the school administration ensure campus “remains a space where all students can feel secure and valued.”

“You are entering liberated zone,” read a message in sidewalk chalk outside the Vancouver protest.

“F–k off Zionists,” read a sign on the fencing surrounding the protest.

There have also been protests at the University of Ottawa and Toronto Metropolitan University. By Wednesday, protesters at the University of Victoria had also established a small encampment, although unlike others, it is not protected by fencing.

On Wednesday, Ottawa media reported that some protesters began to establish encampments on the uOttawa campus late Tuesday, even though the school warned earlier this week that such quasi-permanent protests would not be tolerated. Protesters there are demanding the university reveal its investments. The encampment was established after protesters held sit-ins earlier this week, but dispersed by late evening.

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“We felt that we needed to escalate,” Tom Deadman, a uOttawa student, told CBC Ottawa.

Alex Neve, a uOttawa law professor and former secretary-general of Amnesty International Canada’s English wing, wrote to the university’s president condemning the earlier warning that encampments would not be tolerated.

“To prohibit, in advance, a particular form of protest, with no consideration of the particular circumstances, is indefensible,” Neve wrote. 

The university did not respond to National Post’s request for comment.

With additional reporting from the Montreal Gazette, Vancouver Sun and The Canadian Press

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