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

Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk to join mission to International Space Station

Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk to join mission to International Space Station
Joshua Kutryk has been assigned to a six-month mission that will launch no earlier than the beginning of 2025. François-Philippe Champagne, federal minister of innovation, science and industry, made the announcement today at the Canadian Space Agency headquarters, near Montreal

Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk to join mission to International Space Station

Fear of avian flu on BC farms

Fear of avian flu on BC farms
The threat is avian flu, which has resulted in the deaths of millions of birds from infection or culling, and has become a pervasive fear for farmers as infections spread, said Brittain, chief information officer with the BC Poultry Association.

Fear of avian flu on BC farms

Man dies in Vancouver stabbing

Man dies in Vancouver stabbing
Vancouver police are investigating the city's latest homicide. A 34-year-old man was fatally stabbed yesterday afternoon on the city's Downtown Eastside and was found lying on a sidewalk at about 3 p.m.

Man dies in Vancouver stabbing

B.C. opposition parties heat up climate debate with attacks on NDP's plans

B.C. opposition parties heat up climate debate with attacks on NDP's plans
Climate change has become a hot button political issue in British Columbia with opposition parties launching election-style attacks on the New Democrat government's clean climate policies. B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad told a news conference at the legislature that the NDP's climate policies are taxing people into poverty and they don't do anything "to change the weather."  

B.C. opposition parties heat up climate debate with attacks on NDP's plans

Israel-Hamas hostage deal offers hope for longer-term peace in Gaza: Trudeau

Israel-Hamas hostage deal offers hope for longer-term peace in Gaza: Trudeau
The Israeli government said it would extend the truce by an additional day for every 10 hostages released, while Hamas is promising that hundreds of trucks carrying humanitarian aid, including fuel, will be allowed to enter Gaza.

Israel-Hamas hostage deal offers hope for longer-term peace in Gaza: Trudeau

Fighting inflation half-heartedly would be ‘huge mistake,’ BoC's Macklem warns

Fighting inflation half-heartedly would be ‘huge mistake,’ BoC's Macklem warns
The central bank opted to hold its key interest rate steady at five per cent at its last two decision meetings as economic growth halts. It has said it is also taking into consideration that many Canadians will have to renew their mortgages at higher interest rates, meaning more economic pullback is on the way.

Fighting inflation half-heartedly would be ‘huge mistake,’ BoC's Macklem warns