Pro-Palestinian demonstrators mark one week since the start of their encampment at King’s College Circle at the University of Toronto on May 9.Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail
Leaders of a pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of Toronto say the university has offered to study two of their three key demands, those of disclosure and divestment from Israel, but the protesters say they won’t leave until their demands are met in full.
The university’s offer to create an ad hoc committee to study disclosure and divestment was made at a meeting Sunday, student leaders said at a press conference Monday.
The students said the university’s offer falls short of their demand for concrete progress. They’ve been calling on the university to disclose its investments and divest from companies connected to the Israeli military. They’ve also demanded the university cut ties with Israeli academic institutions that operate in settlements in occupied territories or that are connected to the Israeli military.
The University of Toronto encampment was established on May 2 and the number of tents has grown steadily. There are now 120 to 150 people staying overnight in the encampment, according to organizers.
It is one of several protest encampments in Canada, part of a broader movement that has spread to campuses across the continent, sparking debates about how universities should respond.
In the past week police have forcefully removed protesters at the University of Alberta and the University of Calgary.
McGill University was in Quebec Superior Court on Monday seeking an injunction that would require police to clear an encampment on its campus, which it described as a “fortified and entrenched space” and a “mini-city” with sidewalks, shops and a library.
By occupying the school’s private property for more than two weeks, protesters have exceeded the bounds of constitutionally protected speech, the university’s lawyers argued.
McGill has repeatedly called on the protesters to leave, offering dialogue in exchange for immediately dismantling the encampment, but protesters have said they won’t leave until their demands are met.
In its request for an injunction, McGill expressed concern for safety on campus. University security guards cannot see inside the fenced-in area, and the site may become a magnet for volatile counterprotests, the university’s lawyers said. They added their goal was to “regain our property rights.”
Opponents of the injunction, represented by renowned civil liberties advocate Julius Grey among others, said property rights must be balanced against the right to free expression, especially on campus.
“The university has a different goal than the living room in our home,” said Mr. Grey.
Justice Marc St-Pierre asked McGill’s legal team to prove the urgency of the situation, one of the criteria for an injunction. Jacques Darche, one of McGill’s lawyers, mentioned the school’s spring convocation, traditionally held on the field occupied by protesters, although he acknowledged the university had secured an alternate site for the event.
A decision is expected in the coming days.
In Edmonton, the University of Alberta students’ union and the graduate students’ association joined with the unions representing academic and non-academic staff to call for an emergency meeting with university president Bill Flanagan. In a joint letter, the four groups said they were deeply disappointed by scenes of police wielding batons to forcibly clear an encampment on campus last Fridayon May 10.
They said the use of police to dislodge protesters sent a chilling message that dissent would be met with aggression rather than dialogue. They said it appears to be a severe abuse of power.
University of Toronto administrators told students on Sunday that they don’t want to see the encampment cleared by police, said Serene Paul, a student who spoke at Monday’s press conference.
“They told us they don’t want to be Calgary, they don’t want to be Edmonton and they assured us they do not want to be calling [Toronto police] to come and remove us. And they want to have these negotiations and hopefully get to some place of agreement,” Ms. Paul said.
The University of Toronto confirmed Sunday a meeting took place but declined to discuss details to enable further dialogue.
Kalliopé Anvar McCall, a fourth-year student, said the students are also calling on the university to cut ties with academic institutions operating in occupied settlements as well as those that sustain what she called apartheid policies. She said the university responded with a flat refusal on that point and said they do not engage in academic boycotts.
“What they offered us yesterday was far, far, far from satisfactory. We just want to make it clear, we’re not leaving,” Ms. McCall said. “We live here now. And we will live here as long as needed to have our demands met.”