Close X
Sunday, October 13, 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

Vancouver passes motion to ask province to amend charter, remove elected Park Board

Vancouver passes motion to ask province to amend charter, remove elected Park Board
Vancouver's municipal council has passed a motion aimed at removing the city's elected Park Board. At a meeting last night, council passed a motion by Mayor Ken Sim to ask the province to amend the Vancouver Charter in order to abolish the Park Board.

Vancouver passes motion to ask province to amend charter, remove elected Park Board

Improved transit coming to 4 communities in a joint effort by the Province and the Feds

Improved transit coming to 4 communities in a joint effort by the Province and the Feds
B-C Transit and the federal and provincial governments have combined funding of just over 90-million dollars to improve transit infrastructure to four communities.  The announcement by federal Infrastructure Minister Sean Fraser, B-C’s Transport Minister Rob Fleming and B-C Transit’s C-E-O Erinn Pinkerton will allow for preliminary work for a proposed new transit centre in Saanich. 

Improved transit coming to 4 communities in a joint effort by the Province and the Feds

Bank robbery in East Vancouver

Bank robbery in East Vancouver
Vancouver police say a 61-year-old man with a gun was arrested by a dog team after he robbed a bank in East Vancouver. They say the man was treated for a minor dog bite yesterday.

Bank robbery in East Vancouver

Jewelry theft worth $20K in Langford

Jewelry theft worth $20K in Langford
Mounties have released a photo of a suspect who stole about 20-thousand-dollars worth of jewelry from a Langford store. West Shore R-C-M-P say a man tried on several necklaces at West Shore Jewelry on Saturday then took off without paying.

Jewelry theft worth $20K in Langford

B.C.'s chief coroner exits, frustrated and disappointed with government's OD response

B.C.'s chief coroner exits, frustrated and disappointed with government's OD response
British Columbia's chief coroner Lisa Lapointe says she's a hopeful person, but she is leaving her office frustrated and disappointed. Angry, even, with drug overdose deaths expected to hit record levels this year. The B.C. Coroners Service issued a public safety warning Wednesday, citing increases in overdose deaths "above earlier indications," when 189 deaths were reported in October.

B.C.'s chief coroner exits, frustrated and disappointed with government's OD response

Port Moody Police arrest vandal

Port Moody Police arrest vandal
Police have arrested a man who allegedly smashed several vehicle windows in the parking lot of Eagle Ridge Hospital in Port Moody. Police say officers were called to the hospital on Monday just before 9 p-m after a man allegedly smashed the windows of vehicles parked in the lot, then threatened a security guard before fleeing.

Port Moody Police arrest vandal