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

RCMP in B.C. warn of fake Taylor Swift concert tickets being sold online

RCMP in B.C. warn of fake Taylor Swift concert tickets being sold online
Police on Vancouver Island are warning Swifties about an online scam after several people lost money while trying to secure tickets for Taylor Swift concerts through Facebook groups. West Shore RCMP, based in the Victoria suburb of Langford, say they received at least four complaints involving fraud taking place on Facebook Marketplace and other community groups. 

RCMP in B.C. warn of fake Taylor Swift concert tickets being sold online

Ottawa to provide $132 million to help people fleeing civil war in Sudan

Ottawa to provide $132 million to help people fleeing civil war in Sudan
International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen is announcing $132 million in aid for people fleeing Sudan's yearlong civil war. The funding includes $100 million in humanitarian aid for Sudanese who have fled to neighbouring countries as well as those stuck in Sudan amid widescale violence.

Ottawa to provide $132 million to help people fleeing civil war in Sudan

18 communities hold tsunami preparedness events

18 communities hold tsunami preparedness events
Eighteen communities, from White Rock to Ucluelet and Sooke to Port McNeill, are holding so-called high ground hikes next week as a way to raise awareness about what to do in the event of a tsunami.  It’s tsunami preparedness week from April 14th to 20th, and many areas of coastal B-C are vulnerable to the massive waves from an earthquake, similar to the 1964 Alaska quake that damaged Port Alberni. 

18 communities hold tsunami preparedness events

Richmond crash lands driver in hospital

Richmond crash lands driver in hospital
Mounties in Richmond are seeking witnesses or dash cam footage of a single vehicle crash that sent the driver to hospital in critical condition. Police say shortly before 10:45 p.m. on April 4th a black Mercedes, was travelling southbound on No 6 Road when it left the road, struck an embankment and landed straddling the ditch.

Richmond crash lands driver in hospital

Murderer found not guilty due to mental illness

Murderer found not guilty due to mental illness
A man who stabbed 79-year-old Eric Kutzner to death in a Nanaimo coffee shop two years ago has been found not criminally responsible on account of a mental disorder.  James Turok was convicted of second-degree murder in a B-C Supreme Court but will instead stay at the provincial forensic psychiatric hospital, Associate Chief Justice Heather Homes has ruled. 

Murderer found not guilty due to mental illness

Drug trafficking arrest in Prince George

Drug trafficking arrest in Prince George
Prince George R-C-M-P say a man has been arrested following an investigation into alleged drug trafficking at a local residence.  Mounties say the man was seen leaving his home in a stolen vehicle during an investigation last week and officers later arrested the driver, who was identified as 42-year-old James Alan Webb.

Drug trafficking arrest in Prince George