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, on bicycles and on horseback, descended near the campus after the university served two eviction notices to protesters.
By mid-morning, a group of people wearing high-visibility vests and construction hats were seen walking through the encampment and taking down some of the infrastructure that has been in place for more than 10 weeks.
In a statement on its website, McGill said the university has been subject to “ongoing and escalating acts of violence and vandalism associated with the encampment.” It also said the site also poses health and safety risks.
McGill president Deep Saini said the university was dismantling the camp in close collaboration with the city and police, and through the “engagement of a qualified security firm.”
The university said everyone should stay away from the downtown campus. All events, summer programs and activities are cancelled for the day.
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.
Two groups of protesters, accompanied by security guards, were seen leaving the area peacefully early Wednesday, however there are still protesters in the camp.
By around 9 a.m., a group of several dozen protesters carrying Palestinian flags faced off with a line of Montreal police officers on Sherbrooke Street, near the campus.
While the protesters chanted slogans, police escorted one person out of the encampment and off campus to the cheers of the crowd.
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.
Last week, Montreal police in riot gear kicked protesters out of a pro-Palestinian encampment in Victoria Square and dismantled the camp. Those protesters were pushing for Quebec’s public pension fund manager, the CDPQ, to divest from companies with ties to Israel.