McGill University announced Wednesday morning that it was dismantling the pro-Palestinian encampment on its grounds.
A private security firm, Sirco, was given the task of dismantling the camp that had been set up since the end of April.
More than a hundred officers from the Montreal Police Service (SPVM) and the Sûreté du Québec were dispatched to the scene in case of a skid. Numerous police officers on bicycles, the cavalry and officers from the Support and Specialized Interventions Section were deployed.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
About twenty protesters have agreed to leave the scene, but a handful of them are refusing to leave. Negotiations are underway.
In preparation for the dismantling, Sirco employees brought dump trucks and excavators onto the campus.
“The encampment poses a growing threat to health and safety. Therefore, in the interest of protecting the university community and the integrity of our property, the decision has been made to dismantle the encampment on the lower grounds of the downtown campus,” McGill said in a statement released Wednesday morning.
Around 6 a.m., members of McGill Security began informing protesters that they would have to leave. Some participants left the encampment and began protesting in the streets nearby.
On social media, the group Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights, McGill Division, claimed that the camp was “under attack” and said it was in “urgent need” of support to “defend the camp.”
“Bring masks, goggles and personal safety equipment,” the group wrote in a post on its Instagram account.
In a message to the university community, McGill University President Deep Saini put forward three reasons to justify the dismantling of the encampment:
- Most of the campers are activists from outside groups who are not part of the McGill community. Homeless people have also been sleeping in the encampment for the past few nights, he said;
- Two overdoses have reportedly occurred at the camp since Saturday and the camp has reportedly been the scene of illegal narcotics sales. “In addition, the camp is infested with rats. Finally, a propane tank and flammable materials located near the tents could cause a fire,” he said;
- The encampment continues to attract protesters who are “pro-violence,” he said.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
“There was nothing peaceful about this encampment. It was a fortress of intimidation and violence, built largely by people outside our university community,” he said.
According to Mr. Saini, the dismantling of the encampment “marks an important step towards returning to a healthy climate on campus, a climate conducive to teaching, learning and research.”
The campus closed
In order to dismantle the encampment, the university administration announced that the downtown campus would be closed for the day. Events scheduled for Wednesday are canceled and the university community is asked not to go to the site.
Summer classes that were scheduled to be held on campus will instead take place virtually. Libraries are closed.
In response to the announcement of the dismantling, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs and Federation CJA welcomed McGill University’s action to “prioritize the safety and well-being of its campus community, and to end the toxicity, hateful glorification of terrorism and targeting of Jewish students on campus.”
The protesters set up camp in late April, following similar demonstrations on other college campuses across North America.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
Participants demanded that the university end its investments in companies that profit from Israel’s military operation in the Gaza Strip and that management cut ties between McGill and Israeli universities.
On two occasions, requests for injunctions to force the dismantling of the camp were rejected by the Superior Court.
Negotiations broken off
Tensions at the camp reached a peak on June 6, when protesters broke into the university’s administration building. Police moved in and arrested 15 people.
Negotiations took place between the camp organizers and McGill administration, during which the university proposed measures to meet some of the protesters’ demands, but the talks did not convince participants to dismantle the encampment.
“As long as McGill continues to fund the ongoing genocide in Palestine, we will continue a campaign of escalation on campus,” protesters wrote in an Instagram post in early July.
Other camps set up elsewhere in Quebec have been dismantled by protesters following agreements with the universities concerned. Last week, the City of Montreal dismantled another camp that had been set up in Victoria Square.