Close X
Friday, October 11, 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

Poilievre against transgender women in female bathrooms, changing rooms, sports

Poilievre against transgender women in female bathrooms, changing rooms, sports
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says he believes "biological males" have no place in sports or change rooms that are labelled female. Poilievre was asked at a news conference Wednesday about his position on whether transgender women should be allowed in spaces that are labelled for women and whether he would introduce any legislation to stop it.

Poilievre against transgender women in female bathrooms, changing rooms, sports

All oil and gas permits in B.C. waters are relinquished, say feds Victoria

All oil and gas permits in B.C. waters are relinquished, say feds Victoria
The federal government says the final offshore oil and gas permits for Canada's west coast region have been relinquished. Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson is speaking in Victoria today and expected to announce the relinquishment of the last permits in British Columbia waters.

All oil and gas permits in B.C. waters are relinquished, say feds Victoria

Millennials outnumber baby boomers in Canada as immigration slows population aging

Millennials outnumber baby boomers in Canada as immigration slows population aging
Statistics Canada says there are now more millennials than baby boomers in the country, ending the 65-year reign of the post-Second World War generation as the largest cohort in the population. The federal agency noted the change in its newly released population estimate for July 1, 2023, broken down by age and gender.

Millennials outnumber baby boomers in Canada as immigration slows population aging

Driver speeding in bus lane in North Vancouver is issued $1,500 fine

Driver speeding in bus lane in North Vancouver is issued $1,500 fine
RCMP in North Vancouver say a $1,500 fine was handed out to a driver caught speeding down a bus lane. Police credit the discreet and quick actions of an officer on a motorcycle for nabbing and ticketing a driver last October.

Driver speeding in bus lane in North Vancouver is issued $1,500 fine

RCMP see no foreign interference as two teenagers charged over Surrey shooting

RCMP see no foreign interference as two teenagers charged over Surrey shooting
Two 16-year-old youths were arrested on Feb. 12 and are being held in custody as they await their next court appearance. RCMP say the BC Prosecution Service approved charges of discharging a firearm into a place and possessing a loaded prohibited firearm.

RCMP see no foreign interference as two teenagers charged over Surrey shooting

B.C. New Democrat government makes pledges to homebuyers, renters, in throne speech

B.C. New Democrat government makes pledges to homebuyers, renters, in throne speech
British Columbia's New Democrat government is pledging more homes for first-time buyers and eviction protection for renters in a throne speech that promises affordability measures in this week's budget. The throne speech, read in the legislature by Lt.-Gov. Janet Austin, says the government is putting forward a vision where everyone can get ahead and no one is left behind

B.C. New Democrat government makes pledges to homebuyers, renters, in throne speech