Judge refuses McGill’s bid for injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment

MONTREAL — A Quebec Superior Court judge has refused McGill University’s request for an injunction to dismantle the pro-Palestinian encampment on its downtown Montreal campus.

Justice Marc St-Pierre says the school did not prove the situation at the encampment was sufficiently urgent to justify the measure.

He says in a written decision today that the case raises questions of fundamental and conflicting rights that are too complex to be decided quickly and which require a deeper analysis.

Lawyers for the university asked the court on Monday to order the protesters to stop occupying its grounds and to authorize Montreal police to assist the school in dismantling the encampment.

McGill lawyer Jacques Darche told the court that the encampment presents a health and safety risk and is preventing McGill from holding convocation ceremonies on its property.

But St-Pierre said in his decision that there have not been any serious or violent incidents since the tents went up on April 27, and that the school has already found an alternate venue to hold its graduation events.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 15, 2024.

The Canadian Press