An aerial picture of a what is left of a pro-Palestinian encampment, set up on the University of Toronto campus in Toronto and dismantled on Wednesday, July 3, 2024.Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press
The end of the pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of Toronto this week may offer a path to resolution for similar protests that continue across the country.
As many as two dozen encampments have popped up at universities across the country since late April and a number of those have since been disbanded or resolved. But several also continue to occupy parts of some campuses and it’s not clear whether their demands will be resolved through negotiation.
On Wednesday, protesters cleared out the encampment at King’s College Circle on the University of Toronto’s St. George campus a few hours ahead of a court-imposed deadline to leave.
The Ontario Superior Court had issued an injunction authorizing police to clear the encampment. Justice Markus Koehnen sided with the university, saying that as the property owner it has the right to determine how its space is used.
The protesters at U of T left peacefully, so there was no need for police to enforce the injunction. The protesters have vowed to continue their fight using other tactics.
Many of the encampments share roughly similar demands with those at U of T: that the universities disclose where their money is invested, that they divest from weapons manufacturers connected to the Israeli military or companies that support what they describe as Israeli apartheid, and that they break ties with Israeli universities that operate in the occupied territories.
Protesters remove tents and belongings from the pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of Toronto on July 3.Melissa Tait/The Globe and Mail
Over the course of the past two months several universities have engaged in talks with encampment leaders that addressed some of the protest demands. Negotiations have brought an end to encampments at McMaster University, Ontario Tech, Queen’s University and the University of Quebec at Montreal. But those discussions have proved difficult in many cases.
The University of Toronto’s success in using the courts and the peaceful dismantling of the camp that ensued may be a path other universities will try to follow.
At the University of Western Ontario in London, Ont., president Alan Shepard said in a note to campus this week that the university has made an offer to the encampment that includes a commitment to creating a process for raising concerns about its investments and for taking human-rights considerations into account in its international partnerships.
He also said that if the camp is dismantled by the end of the weekend the university will not pursue disciplinary action against students or staff who took part in the protest, with the exception of those who engaged in violence, property damage or harassment, as well as those who entered buildings without authorization.
At the University of Waterloo, the administration engaged a mediator to assist with negotiations. But it has also issued a notice of trespass, beginning a legal process similar to what occurred in the U of T case. It has also launched a civil lawsuit seeking damages from the protesters for alleged vandalism and harm to the university’s reputation.
At McGill, the Montreal university is awaiting a court date to have its case for an injunction heard. But it broke off negotiations with the encampment in June, after protesters rejected an offer of mediation.
In Western Canada, encampments continue at the University of British Columbia, the University of Victoria and Vancouver Island University, among others.
U of T encampment ends not with a bang, or a whimper, but a shrug
At the University of Toronto, the administration’s conservative estimate for the costs incurred as a result of the encampment was more than $300,000 as of late May, with a further $200,000 expected to be spent on remediating the field at King’s College Circle once it was returned to the university.
The university’s administration said it is still assessing the condition of the field and it hopes to have it reopened to the community before the start of classes in September.
Sandy Welsh, a U of T vice-provost, said no new protests had been launched Thursday. She added that free speech is essential to campus life and that students can exercise their right to lawful protest.