The solidarity camp for Palestinians in Gaza, set up on the campus of McGill University in Montreal, resisted a second assault in court. On Wednesday, the Superior Court refused the educational establishment’s request for a temporary injunction, which wanted the camp to be dismantled.
The demonstrators, who denounce in particular the deadly bombings by Israel in Gaza, as well as the living conditions of the Palestinians there, can therefore remain in their camp.
“The circumstances of this case do not justify the Superior Court to issue an order to force the evacuation [des manifestants] of the plaintiffs’ land,” writes Judge Marc St-Pierre in his brief decision.
There is no urgency to act, ruled the magistrate. This is also the conclusion of the judge who heard the first request for an injunction, presented by two McGill students who wanted the space for demonstrations to be restricted.
” Victory ! » immediately wrote the organization Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights McGill on Instagram. “The camp is resisting. » Along with others, she also demands that the higher education establishment end its investments in various companies, including manufacturers of military equipment.
As for McGill, she said she was “disappointed” with the judgment rendered Wednesday, and reiterated that the encampment is “illegal.”
A “quasi-permanent” encampment, says McGill
Last Friday, two weeks after the appearance of the first tents on its campus, the Montreal university filed its request for an injunction. She was careful to specify that she did not want to prohibit any demonstration on her property, but was attacking this “quasi-permanent” encampment.
The educational establishment argued in court that it fears for the safety of its students and staff, threatened by an increase in tensions on campus, but also for the health of those who have lived in the encampment for two weeks. Neither its representatives nor the City of Montreal Fire Safety Service were able to gain access to the camp to inspect it, McGill argued.
Except that the university has not reported “any serious or violent incident since the erection of the first tents on the campus, on April 27, 2024”, ruled the magistrate: even a confrontation with counter-protesters on the 2 May “happened peacefully”.
McGill expresses his fears, yes, but the Court does not issue an injunction order “as a preventative measure in the event that something purely hypothetical occurs in the future,” explains Justice St-Pierre.
He goes even further: while McGill wanted the court to prohibit anyone from demonstrating on university grounds in a manner that would be “in violation of its policies and procedures,” he calls this request “ ill-founded.”
The only concrete element that was mentioned, he believes, is the holding of the convocation ceremonies which must be held this month on the grassy area of the campus, where the demonstrators are currently installed. But since McGill has acknowledged having found another location for these activities, the urgency to intervene is no longer there.
It’s not all over, however: McGill can now seek a permanent injunction, after a full trial.