Close X
Wednesday, October 9, 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

Stabbing near White Rock Pier

Stabbing near White Rock Pier
Police in White Rock are looking for witnesses after a stabbing put a person in hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. R-C-M-P say the stabbing happened late Sunday near WhiteRock Pier, and initial investigations indicate there was no confrontation before the attack.

Stabbing near White Rock Pier

B.C. to increase local milk production with $25-million factory investment

B.C. to increase local milk production with $25-million factory investment
The British Columbia government is spending up to $25 million toward the construction of a milk production plant aimed at boosting the supply of locally sourced food products. The province says in a statement that the expansion to Vitalus Nutrition's plant in Abbotsford, B.C., will begin construction this summer and will increase local milk production by 50 per cent, to 1.4 billion litres annually.

B.C. to increase local milk production with $25-million factory investment

Trudeau announces $5B-loan guarantee program for Indigenous communities

Trudeau announces $5B-loan guarantee program for Indigenous communities
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada is offering $5 billion in loan guarantees to support Indigenous communities seeking ownership stakes in natural resource and energy projects.  Trudeau says the program will help Indigenous peoples receive a fair share in Canada's economic growth.  

Trudeau announces $5B-loan guarantee program for Indigenous communities

Baby lives after stroller hit and dragged by vehicle in Squamish

Baby lives after stroller hit and dragged by vehicle in Squamish
A baby in a stroller survived being struck and dragged for two blocks while it was lodged in the front of a vehicle in Squamish, B.C. Mounties say they received multiple calls that a vehicle had hit a pedestrian pushing a baby in the stroller at a crosswalk Monday night.

Baby lives after stroller hit and dragged by vehicle in Squamish

2 officers hurt in hit and run arrest

2 officers hurt in hit and run arrest
Police in North Vancouver says two officers were hurt last week as they tried to arrest a suspect in a hit-and-run.  RCMP say they're now hoping for dash cam and surveillance footage to aid them in their investigation after a crash around 1 a-m on April 17 on the Dollarton Highway. 

2 officers hurt in hit and run arrest

Police watchdog investigate death of a man in custody of Chilliwack RCMP

Police watchdog investigate death of a man in custody of Chilliwack RCMP
B-C’s police watchdog is investigating the death of a man while in the custody of Chilliwack R-C-M-P.  Mounties say they were called yesterday afternoon to a report of a fight inside a vehicle sitting on a city street. 

Police watchdog investigate death of a man in custody of Chilliwack RCMP