McGill University has withdrawn its request for an injunction against the occupants of a pro-Palestinian encampment, just over two weeks after the institution dismantled the facility in downtown Montreal.
In a brief statement, the university confirmed it had withdrawn its request because it was “no longer necessary due to the dismantling of the camp on July 10.” At that time, McGill had hired a private security firm to dismantle the encampment that had been located on the school’s lower grounds since late April.
Protesters had fenced off an area and set up tents on April 27, following a wave of similar protests on campuses in the United States linked to the war between Israel and Hamas. They had demanded that McGill divest from companies they deemed “complicit” in Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory and cut ties with Israeli institutions.
In mid-May, the university failed to obtain an emergency court order requiring police to evacuate the protesters, after a Quebec Superior Court judge found the institution had failed to prove the situation at the encampment was urgent enough to warrant the measure.
The case was pending before the courts to be heard on the merits, and all parties were scheduled to appear at the Montreal courthouse on Thursday for a hearing. None of the lawyers showed up, however. Later, lawyers for McGill and some of the protest groups confirmed that the university had dropped the injunction request.
Separately, two McGill students also tried in May to shut down the encampment, saying they felt unsafe. Although a judge ruled the protesters were illegally occupying campus, he stopped short of ordering their eviction.
McGill then opted to take the private security route. “The owner of a property has every right to ask people who occupy his property without authorization to leave,” the university said in a statement while the dismantling operation was underway.
McGill President Deep Saini called the encampment “a heavily fortified hotbed of intimidation and violence, organized largely by individuals who are not part of our university community.”
In an update Thursday, the university said it was preparing to reopen its downtown campus, which has been largely restricted since the camp was removed. Restrictions are expected to ease further next week, and the plan is to return to an open campus by the time the fall semester begins.