A tent camp of protesters for Palestine was set up a few days ago on the campus of McGill University, in the heart of downtown Montreal. University authorities claimed they did not authorize the encampment and requested police intervention on Tuesday to dismantle it.
The court was also seized on Tuesday of a request for a temporary injunction against the demonstrators. The duty dissects the procedures before the Court and the applicable law with the help of law professor from Laval University, Louis-Philippe Lampron, specializing in constitutional law and human rights and freedoms.
What is this injunction aimed at?
The Court is asked to ban five pro-Palestinian groups from demonstrating within 100 meters of university buildings. The request for an injunction does not directly demand the dismantling of the encampment, but considering the restricted green space where it is currently installed, a ban on being less than 100 meters from the buildings could have this effect. These various groups and all their members are also required not to intimidate students on campus, and not to create a hostile environment that would make them feel unsafe attending their classes. . Everything aims to ensure that they have unhindered access to their classrooms, it is written in the procedure.
These are two students who are demanding this injunction. They testified under oath that they were afraid to be on campus. They have the right to go to school in a safe environment, which is not undermined by protesters, said their lawyer, Me Neil Oberman. He clarified that he was not asking that the encampment be dismantled.
The injunction is requested for the moment for a period of 10 days.
What is McGill’s position?
The University does not want to take a position on the request for an injunction. She did not see fit to request one. On the other hand, it judges that the camps set up on its campus are illegal, declared the University’s lawyer, Me David Grossman, before Judge Chantal Masse of the Superior Court.
Since McGill does not intervene by allowing the encampment to continue, there is a breach of its contract concluded with its students, argued Mr. Oberman.
On what grounds are the defendants objecting?
The injunction targets five groups including Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights — SPHR-Concordia and Montréal4Palestine. They argued for the demonstrators’ right to freedom of expression and their freedom of peaceful assembly — two rights protected by the country’s Charters. they add that the demonstrators are peaceful.
McGill law professors and the Student Association of McGill University (SSMU) have asked to intervene in the request for an injunction to defeat it. Their lawyer, Me Sibel Ataogul argued that the procedure has nothing to do with the safety of students: it is rather a “SLAPP suit” which aims to put an end to any criticism of the Israeli government. The request of the two students is abusive and, if granted, it would have the effect of making all demonstrations prohibited in downtown Montreal for 10 days.
When can such a temporary injunction be granted?
It must be demonstrated that there is an “appearance of right”, that is to say that the injunction appears founded at first glance and is not manifestly frivolous, Professor Lampron recalled. It is also necessary to convince the court that there is “urgency” to act. On this subject, Me Oberman argued Tuesday that there was an emergency because the protests on campus were still “ongoing” and classes were not over for everyone.
He also argued that an injunction must be granted to ensure the safety of students. This is indeed one of the reasons which makes it possible to obtain an injunction, according to the professor from Laval University. But there must be a “serious risk” to security, and not simple inconveniences, which always accompany demonstrations. “One of the key elements of protesting is to make it uncomfortable. » He adds that if it is possible for students to enter buildings, it could be more difficult to obtain an injunction that will restrict the right to demonstrate. Judge Masse, who heard the case on Tuesday, said that there was no proof that access to the buildings was blocked.
Can freedom of expression be restricted?
People have the right to demonstrate and make comments that are not unanimous. In the event of armed conflict, war or invasion, they have the right to proclaim support for one group and not the other.
But this freedom of expression has limits, particularly when the comments made “directly” call for hatred and violence towards a group, recalls the professor. The standard for demonstrating this, however, is “very, very high,” he says: “It has to be very serious.” If there is a call for genocide and the destruction of a people, “there, we are out of the game: we fall into hateful propaganda” and freedom of speech can be restricted.
Is it illegal to set up a tent camp on a university campus?
Besides campgrounds, there are not really places where it is allowed to set up tents: not even in public parks, notes law professor Louis-Philippe Lampron. If a person wants to pitch their tent on a college campus, “they’re going to be told to go somewhere else. » In the case of an encampment which is part of a demonstration – as we saw during the movement « Occupy Montreal », inspired by “ Occupy Wall Street », he reminds us – there are, however, other considerations. Will setting up a camp be considered an activity protected by the right to freedom of expression? It’s possible, says the professor. If the activity is recognized as “protected”, it must then be determined whether there are serious grounds for restricting it, by ordering, for example, that the encampment be dismantled.
Protesting is a fundamental right, but it is not without limits. It is also not permitted everywhere, as we saw recently with the supposed demonstration which led to the blocking of the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine bridge-tunnel: it is not a place to demonstrate, the decision was then made a judge.