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

Building Tomorrow Canada's Immigration Plans Amidst Affordable Housing Realities

Building Tomorrow Canada's Immigration Plans Amidst Affordable Housing Realities
In a bold move to shape its demographic landscape, Canada is gearing up to welcome a significant influx of immigrants, with the government's announced targets aiming to bring in 485,000 new permanent residents in 2024, escalating to 500,000 in 2025, and maintaining that level in 2026. This strategic push is propelled by the twin engines of economic growth and a compassionate response to global humanitarian crises. 

Building Tomorrow Canada's Immigration Plans Amidst Affordable Housing Realities

B.C. to restrict cellphones in schools to protect kids from online harm

B.C. to restrict cellphones in schools to protect kids from online harm
British Columbia is moving to restrict the use of cellphones in schools as part of measures Premier David Eby says will help protect young people from online threats. Eby said the government will also launch a service to remove intimate images from the internet and "pursue predators," as well as introduce legislation to hold social media companies accountable for harms they have caused. 

B.C. to restrict cellphones in schools to protect kids from online harm

Cap on student visas should help take pressure off soaring rents, Macklem says

Cap on student visas should help take pressure off soaring rents, Macklem says
Immigration Minister Marc Miller said at a cabinet retreat in Montreal on Monday that the number of new visas handed out this year will be capped at 364,000, a 35 per cent decrease from the nearly 560,000 issued last year. The number for 2025 will be set after an assessment of the situation later this year.

Cap on student visas should help take pressure off soaring rents, Macklem says

Atmospheric river could bring rain to parts of southern B.C., risk of flooding

Atmospheric river could bring rain to parts of southern B.C., risk of flooding
Weather officials are warning residents in British Columbia's South Coast region of another atmospheric river system that could bring storms and elevate flood risks starting Saturday. Environment and Climate Change Canada says the region is expected to see periods of heavy rain combined with melting mountain snow until Wednesday.

Atmospheric river could bring rain to parts of southern B.C., risk of flooding

B.C. Centre for Disease Control reports fourth flu-related death of child under 10

B.C. Centre for Disease Control reports fourth flu-related death of child under 10
The centre says there have now been four flu-related deaths in children under 10 during the current respiratory illness season. It says flu-related deaths refer to those where influenza was a contributing factor but not necessarily the primary cause of death.

B.C. Centre for Disease Control reports fourth flu-related death of child under 10

B.C. odour incidents spark questions around corporate ethics and communication

B.C. odour incidents spark questions around corporate ethics and communication
Vancouver resident Robert Ford was heading to a yoga class Sunday morning when he smelled an odour he likened to "semi-burnt fuel." As a member of council at his Kitsilano apartment building, he said he decided to check the boiler room, but it smelled fine.  

B.C. odour incidents spark questions around corporate ethics and communication