McGill requests ‘police assistance’ to remove pro-Palestinian encampment on campus
MONTREAL — McGill University has asked Montreal police for help to dismantle an encampment of pro-Palestinian activists who are refusing to leave its downtown campus.
On Tuesday, a day before summer session classes were scheduled to begin, dozens of tents remained pitched on the muddy ground of McGill’s lower field, enclosed by metal fencing erected by the protesters. Banners on the fence carried messages such as: “You are funding genocide.”
McGill said it asked for police assistance after failing to persuade the protesters to end what the school has called an illegal action.
“Police representatives, who have expertise in skilfully resolving situations such as these, have now started their own process,” the university said. “We continue to work with them to resolve the matter.”
Montreal police spokeswoman Véronique Dubuc said the force has received McGill’s request to dismantle the encampment and is evaluating “different avenues” to respond.
The encampment, which was erected on Saturday just ahead of the end of final exams at McGill, follows a wave of similar protests on campuses across the United States linked to the Israel-Hamas war. ProPalestinian protesters have also set up an encampment at the University of British Columbia’s Point Grey Campus, while the University of Toronto and the University of Ottawa have both warned that encampments on campus will not be tolerated.
A lawyer representing two McGill students was in Quebec Superior Court on Tuesday arguing for an injunction against the protesters. The students are asking a judge to order the creation of a “restricted area” that would prevent five pro-Palestinian groups from protesting within 100 metres of a number of McGill buildings, according to court documents.
The plaintiffs, who are asking the court to seal their identities because they fear for their safety, allege the encampment “creates a dangerous, hostile, aggressive and violent environment” and that they feel uncomfortable and unsafe attending exams and classes.
Activists at McGill say they have no intention of dismantling their tents until the school, as well as nearby Concordia University, divest from all companies that protesters claim are “profiting from genocide.” The encampment is near the campus gates and does not block access to university buildings.
The university’s website says classes for its summer session begin today. The lower field is also where a tent is erected every spring for graduation ceremonies, which are scheduled to begin on May 28.
McGill has said that many of the activists, if not the majority, are not members of the school community and that video shows some people using “unequivocally antisemitic language and intimidating behaviour.”
Pro-Palestinian protesters camped out at the University of British Columbia’s Vancouver campus were bringing in water, food and other supplies on Tuesday in preparation to stay as long as it takes the school to accept their demands.
The encampment that went up Monday has grown to about 30 tents, with some filled with large quantities of bottled water, food and bedding, while two portable toilets have also been brought in.
A protest spokesman, who would only identify himself as Kevin, said he and others will not leave until their demands are met. Demands include an academic boycott of Israeli universities and that UBC divests itself from Israeli companies that they say are complicit in “oppression and genocide” of Palestinians. “I’m pretty confident we can stay as long as it takes,” said Kevin, who identified himself as a second-year student at UBC.
“Everybody here is talking to each other, supporting each other. And we have plenty of food, plenty of water. We’re here as long as our demands aren’t met.”
There was no visible RCMP presence outside the camp.
About 80 protesters have erected makeshift barriers around the field where they’ve pitched their tents, using materials ranging from metal fences secured with zip ties and overturned picnic tables to piles of wood pallets and traffic barricades fastened with ropes and bungee cords.
Palestinian flags and banners displaying slogans such as “Free Palestine,” hang near the protest site.
A UBC spokesman said Monday that the protesters had not been given permission to erect barriers, and the school was in contact with police to monitor the situation.
“Of course, it’s hard to not notice the other movements in North America and also the tensions mounting at McGill so far,” Kevin said, noting that officials had turned off power outlets in and around the field where the encampment is located.
“Even though the police presence from the university hasn’t been great and they’ve been pretty hostile toward us, I’m still pretty confident, how we’ve been dealing with it pretty well. And the camp is still alive and well.”
Inside the camp on Tuesday, the atmosphere was festive with music playing and people sitting on lawn chairs or in tents chatting among themselves.
Among the protest banners was a sign notifying attendees of escorts available to the washrooms in nearby school buildings, reminding people that they would need to check in again to re-enter the encampment.