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

Child poverty rate rises in B.C.

Child poverty rate rises in B.C.
The report makes more than two dozen recommendations, nine of them focused on raising family incomes through paying family-supporting wages or improving income supports. It says B.C.'s child poverty rate of 14.3 per cent was lower than the national average of 15.6 per cent, but the rate on 67 First Nations reserves is about double the national rate, while for single-parent families it's even higher at 40 per cent. 

Child poverty rate rises in B.C.

2 stabbed at Guildford Town Centre Mall

2 stabbed at Guildford Town Centre Mall
Upon arrival, officers located a 40 year female and a 35 year old male, both suffering from stab wounds. Both individuals were transported to a local area hospital where the female is listed in critical condition, while the male is currently stable.

2 stabbed at Guildford Town Centre Mall

Michael Johal arrested in the death of Abbotsford man Gagandeep Sandhu

Michael Johal arrested in the death of Abbotsford man Gagandeep Sandhu
A Delta man has now been charged with conspiracy to commit murder in relation to a 2023 Burnaby homicide. On September 16th of last year the Burnaby RCMP responded to a report of shots fired in the 3400-block of North Road, Burnaby. First responding officers arrived on scene and found a deceased man, later identified as 29-year old Gagandeep Sandhu of Abbotsford, in an underground parkade.

Michael Johal arrested in the death of Abbotsford man Gagandeep Sandhu

RCMP investigate shooting that killed one man in Sicamous

RCMP investigate shooting that killed one man in Sicamous
Police in British Columbia's Interior are asking for the public's help to identify a suspect vehicle after a man was fatally shot this weekend. A statement from the B.C. RCMP says the detachment in Sicamous, east of Kamloops, received a report of a shooting in the parking lot of the Best Western Hotel along the Trans-Canada Highway at about 4:50 p.m. on Saturday.

RCMP investigate shooting that killed one man in Sicamous

Female found deceased in residential fire

Female found deceased in residential fire
Surrey RCMP is assisting Surrey Fire Services following a fatal residential fire in Surrey.  On Saturday at 05:20 am, Surrey RCMP received a report of a residential structure fire in the 15100-block of 88th Avenue.  Police arrived on scene with the Surrey Fire Department and evacuated the occupants of neighboring residences.  

Female found deceased in residential fire

Navinder Gill sentenced to life in prison for December 2022 homicide of Harpreet Kaur Gill in Surrey

Navinder Gill sentenced to life in prison for December 2022 homicide of Harpreet Kaur Gill in Surrey
On December 7, 2022, at 9:22 p.m. the Surrey RCMP responded to a report of a stabbing in the 12700-block of 66 Avenue, Surrey. Officers attended and found a 40-year old woman, later identified as Harpreet Kaur Gill, in medical distress, resulting from multiple stab wounds.

Navinder Gill sentenced to life in prison for December 2022 homicide of Harpreet Kaur Gill in Surrey