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

1 in 4 Canadians fear income won't cover basic needs: Salvation Army poll

1 in 4 Canadians fear income won't cover basic needs: Salvation Army poll
A new survey suggests one in four Canadians are extremely concerned about having enough income to cover their basic needs, with the highest degree of hardship being felt by single parents. The Salvation Army released the data today as part of their annual report examining Canadians' attitudes and experiences with poverty and related socioeconomic issues.

1 in 4 Canadians fear income won't cover basic needs: Salvation Army poll

RCMP warn about spike in online extremism among Canadian youth

RCMP warn about spike in online extremism among Canadian youth
The Mounties say five Canadian youth have been arrested in terror-related cases since June. Jewish and Muslim leaders across Canada have reported an increase in hate-motivated attacks since the terrorist attacks launched by Hamas on Israel on Oct. 7, and the massive military response by Israel in Gaza.

RCMP warn about spike in online extremism among Canadian youth

Powerful gusts over 100 kilometres per hour, steady rain projected to hit East Coast

Powerful gusts over 100 kilometres per hour, steady rain projected to hit East Coast
Ian Hubbard with Environment Canada says strong winds are forecast to begin in southern Nova Scotia and New Brunswick and sweep across the provinces through the day and overnight. The storm is expected to head overnight across the Cabot Strait and into southern Newfoundland, where powerful winds are also expected. Hubbard says the strongest gusts may reach up to 110 km/h and that between 50 to 80 millimetres of rain will fall.

Powerful gusts over 100 kilometres per hour, steady rain projected to hit East Coast

Canada joins EU, Britain, others decrying 'extremist settlers' violence in West Bank

Canada joins EU, Britain, others decrying 'extremist settlers' violence in West Bank
The United Nations says violence in the Israel-occupied Palestinian territory of the West Bank has risen at an unprecedented rate since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas militants prompted Israel to bombard the Gaza Strip. Armed groups living in Israeli settlements, deemed illegal under international law, have attacked Palestinians hundreds of times and forced more than 1,200 to leave their homes.

Canada joins EU, Britain, others decrying 'extremist settlers' violence in West Bank

B.C. transfer station 'intentionally' set ablaze after attempted break-in, city says

B.C. transfer station 'intentionally' set ablaze after attempted break-in, city says
Officials in Cranbrook say the city's transfer station for garbage and recycling was "intentionally" set ablaze by someone who tried to break into the facility overnight. A statement from the Regional District of East Kootenay says the station has reopened after the early morning fire was snuffed out by emergency crews. 

B.C. transfer station 'intentionally' set ablaze after attempted break-in, city says

2 dead in a car crash in Nanaimo

2 dead in a car crash in Nanaimo
Police in Nanaimo say two people are dead after a serious single-vehicle car crash near a rural campground on Saturday morning. Nanaimo R-C-M-P say they arrived just before 9 a-m at the crash site on Nanaimo River Road, about 15 kilometres west of the Trans Canada Highway.   

2 dead in a car crash in Nanaimo