Close X
Saturday, October 12, 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

Sharp decline in spring snowpack due to human-caused climate change: study

Sharp decline in spring snowpack due to human-caused climate change: study
Human-caused climate change is behind a decline in spring snowpack across parts of Southern Canada and the Northern Hemisphere, says a new study that offers widespread caution of how a warming planet could transform winter and affect water security. 

Sharp decline in spring snowpack due to human-caused climate change: study

RCMP arrest stolen car suspect in Nelson, B.C., after officer hurt in road block

RCMP arrest stolen car suspect in Nelson, B.C., after officer hurt in road block
Police say a 42-year-old man from Trail, B.C., has been arrested after allegedly driving a stolen vehicle that hit three police cars and injured an officer at a roadblock. Mounties say an officer in Salmo, B.C., saw a stolen Toyota Tundra on Tuesday and tried to stop the vehicle, but the suspect sped away.  

RCMP arrest stolen car suspect in Nelson, B.C., after officer hurt in road block

Surrey RCMP launches new tool to spread awareness about gang violence

Surrey RCMP launches new tool to spread awareness about gang violence
R-C-M-P in Surrey are using a new tool to educate young people about gang violence in the hopes of discouraging their involvement in them. Officers from the Mounties' gang enforcement team will be sharing a new video specifically created for Surrey youth during school presentations.

Surrey RCMP launches new tool to spread awareness about gang violence

Suspect wanted in Victoria restaurant arson

Suspect wanted in Victoria restaurant arson
Police in Victoria are looking for help in identifying a suspect wanted in an arson that damaged a local restaurant. They say fire broke out the early morning hours of June 16th at a restaurant on Douglas Street, resulting in damages estimated at between 1.5-million to two-million-dollars.  

Suspect wanted in Victoria restaurant arson

Patrol increase in Maple Ridge due to thefts

Patrol increase in Maple Ridge due to thefts
Mounties in Maple Ridge say they'll be increasing patrols in the downtown core after an uptick in break and enters and thefts. The Ridge Meadows R-C-M-P say the slight increase has been seen over the last month.  

Patrol increase in Maple Ridge due to thefts

B.C. hospital admissions break record as respiratory illness season nears peak

B.C. hospital admissions break record as respiratory illness season nears peak
British Columbia's health minister says hospitals are dealing with a record number of in-patients as the province's respiratory illness season nears its peak. Health Minister Adrian Dix told a briefing that 10,435 people were in hospital as of Tuesday night, the most the province has ever seen, and many have respiratory illnesses.

B.C. hospital admissions break record as respiratory illness season nears peak