Close X
Thursday, October 10, 2024
ADVT 
National

Pro-Palestinian protesters dismantle UBC camp

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 08 Jul, 2024 05:10 PM
  • Pro-Palestinian protesters dismantle UBC camp

A pro-Palestinian protest camp that had occupied a sports field at the University of British Columbia's Vancouver campus for more than two months has been dismantled by the demonstrators.

Dozens of tents had been removed by Monday, although barricades and fencing around the site remain in place.

A statement from UBC says "protesters decamped from MacInnes Field" adjacent to the school's transit loop and student union building on Sunday, but did not elaborate. 

A spokeswoman for the protest camp confirmed in a text message that it had closed.

A UBC security guard at MacInnes Field who declined to be named said the protesters vacated the site without giving any notice on Sunday evening.

Guards were patrolling the area Monday to prevent unauthorized people from entering the field while they waited for cleanup crews to arrive.

On Friday, more than 35 tents and a small handful of people were visible at the site that had been occupied since late April by protesters demanding that UBC end any financial or academic ties with Israeli companies or institutions.

A spokeswoman for Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo, B.C., said it had no update on a protest camp there. The University of Victoria did not respond to requests for updates on an encampment at its campus.

The low-key closure of the UBC camp came after another protest site at the University of Toronto was vacated last week. That came after a judge ruled in favour of an injunction sought by the school to clear the camp.

Ontario Superior Court Justice Markus Koehnen ruled the encampment took away the school’s ability to control what happened on its properties. The result, Koehnen said, amounted to irreparable harm.

"In our society, we have decided that the owner of property generally gets to decide what happens on the property," Koehnen’s decision said.

University of Ottawa professor Michael Geist had said the Ontario decision could act as a road map for other schools looking to remove protest camps. He said its reliance on property law meant schools could issue trespass notices to protesters before starting the legal process of clearing them out.

Protesters at several Canadian schools including UBC issued a joint statement on social media last week calling the Ontario decision "shameful" for prioritizing property ownership over students' rights.

The statement said protesters would "continue to act on our campuses and apply pressure to our universities through every possible avenue."

The UBC camp once included about 75 tents and was bustling with music and activity, but at one point on Friday only three people could be seen inside the fenced zone.

Vancouver Island University had said in a statement last week after the Ontario court decision that it was "exploring similar legal avenues taken by other institutions."

The school said about 25 protesters occupied a school building in late June and disrupted an exam, while another building was vandalized over the Canada Day long weekend.

Vancouver Island University said its settlement proposal to the protesters had been rejected, and the escalation of disruptions on campus shows "encampment participants are unwilling to engage in good-faith dialogue."

MORE National ARTICLES

Families who rescued loved ones from Gaza feel 'scammed' by Canadian government

Families who rescued loved ones from Gaza feel 'scammed' by Canadian government
Immigration Minister Marc Miller has been vocal about his frustration at Canada's impotence when it comes to facilitating the crossing of approved family members into Egypt.  He did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the delays experienced by people who managed to escape on their own. 

Families who rescued loved ones from Gaza feel 'scammed' by Canadian government

'Clean slate' to reshape B.C. wine industry, after climate-related catastrophes

'Clean slate' to reshape B.C. wine industry, after climate-related catastrophes
The heart of British Columbia's wine industry is reeling after suffering a litany of climate-related hits, resulting in two years of crop losses in the southern Interior.  Record-breaking heat. Wildfires and smoke that repeatedly contaminated grapes. A destructive cold snap in 2022. Then, the hammer blow — another deep freeze this January that is estimated to have inflicted up to 99 per cent crop loss across the province, wiping out this year's vintage.

'Clean slate' to reshape B.C. wine industry, after climate-related catastrophes

Woman survives being buried 20 minutes upside down in avalanche near Metro Vancouver

Woman survives being buried 20 minutes upside down in avalanche near Metro Vancouver
Rescuers say a woman is lucky to be alive after being caught in an avalanche on Metro Vancouver's North Shore and being completely buried upside down for up to 20 minutes. North Shore Rescue says the incident happened Sunday at the south face of Pump Peak, about 24 kilometres northeast of downtown Vancouver.

Woman survives being buried 20 minutes upside down in avalanche near Metro Vancouver

BC Hydro restoring power after wind storm leaves thousands in the dark

BC Hydro restoring power after wind storm leaves thousands in the dark
BC Hydro is restoring electricity to customers after strong wind gusts knocked out power to thousands of customers. Environment Canada issued wind warnings Saturday for parts of British Columbia and many are still in effect today.

BC Hydro restoring power after wind storm leaves thousands in the dark

12M cryptocurrency scam in Surrey

12M cryptocurrency scam in Surrey
Police in Surrey say they received nearly 230 reports of fraud involving cryptocurrency last year, resulting in losses totalling 12-million-dollars. R-C-M-P say police have already received 50 reports of similar cases in the first two months of this year, with losses reaching 3.2-million-dollars.

12M cryptocurrency scam in Surrey

Senior killed in hit and run

Senior killed in hit and run
Vancouver Police say they've arrested a suspect in a hit-and-run crash that killed a woman in her 80s on the city's east side. Police say the driver did not stop after hitting the woman, who was crossing at Nanaimo and East Hastings streets yesterday afternoon.

Senior killed in hit and run