The operation to dismantle the pro-Palestinian encampment at McGill University has begun, hours after the university announced the closure of its downtown campus to facilitate the job.
Early Wednesday morning, a large force of local and provincial police officers, some wearing riot gear, and others on bicycles and on horseback, descended near the campus after the university served two eviction notices to protesters.
By mid-morning, a team of security guards and contractors hired by the university began hauling down tents and fences, which had been in place for more than 10 weeks, as dozens of police in riot gear stood at the ready.
The security team escorted dozens of protesters from the encampment early Wednesday morning to make way for workers in high-visibility vests who used a front loader and a backhoe to clear the tents, signs and tarps left by the protesters.
Some protesters did not leave willingly. Police escorted them from the encampment and at least one person was arrested, according to Radio-Canada.
McGill erected temporary fencing blocking campus access to students and staff. Sûreté du Québec officers wearing heavy green riot gear stood at entrances to the campus and turned people away.
By around 9 a.m., a group of several dozen protesters, which included some people who had left the encampment, were carrying Palestinian flags and faced off with a line of Montreal police officers near the campus. They were chanting slogans as a form of protest. Both that protest and the operation to dismantle the encampment are taking place peacefully and in relative calm.
The move to dismantle the encampment comes in the wake of months of conflict between the university, the protesters and the police. In a statement, McGill described the encampment as a magnet for violence and intimidation, said most of the people there were not students and that there had been overdoses and illegal drug use at the camp
The university announced the closure of its downtown campus Wednesday morning to dismantle the pro-Palestinian encampment that was set up more than 10 weeks ago. It is using a private security agency.
The university said everyone should stay away from the downtown campus. All events, summer programs and activities are cancelled for the day.
The SPVM has established a perimeter on Sherbrooke Street.
A call from protesters to protect encampment
Around 4 a.m., a post from an Instagram account belonging to protesters at the encampment said police were surrounding the side streets at McGill and feared that police would dismantle the tents.
They called for urgent support to defend the camp and asked people to come in numbers, as well as to bring masks, goggles and personal safety equipment.
Montreal police spokesperson Jean-Pierre Brabant said officers from the Service de police de la ville de Montréal (SPVM) are present, but only for support purposes.
Since April 27, students have camped on the downtown campus in protest of the university’s investments in weapons companies and companies with ties to Israel.
It was among a large number of encampment protests that were set up across North America in response to Israel’s bombing campaign in Gaza.
Saini said McGill will always respect freedom of expression and assembly exercised within the limits of laws and policies that ensure safety.
“However, recent events go far beyond peaceful protest, and have inhibited the respectful exchange of views and ideas that is so essential to the university’s mission and to our sense of community,” he said.
Saini said the university hired a firm to investigate the activities taking place inside the encampment as police and university officials were long denied access.
He said the firm found few members of the McGill community were part of the encampment and that most were activists from external groups or unhoused individuals residing there overnight.
The firm is said to have found that two drug overdoses occurred in the camp since July 6 and illegal drugs have been sold there.
“This camp was not a peaceful protest,” Saini said in a statement to the McGill community. “It was a heavily fortified focal point for intimidation and violence, organized largely by individuals who are not part of our university community.”
Last camp standing in Quebec
Prior to Wednesday’s operation, two Quebec Superior Court judges rejected provisional injunctions to have the McGill encampment removed and police had said they would not act against it until they received judicial authorization.
All other pro-Palestinian encampments set up at universities in Quebec, including Université du Quebec à Montréal (UQAM), Université de Sherbrooke and Université Laval have been taken down.