The judge hearing Université du Québec à Montréal’s (UQAM) application for a provisional injunction against the pro-Palestinian encampment on its grounds is expected to issue his decision on Monday.
Last Friday, Superior Court Judge Louis-Joseph Gouin heard arguments from both parties involved at a hearing at the Montreal courthouse.
He indicated that he would render his decision on Monday.
Since May 12, pro-Palestinian demonstrators have been camping out near UQAM’s Complexe des sciences Pierre-Dansereau, following in the footsteps of similar rallies elsewhere in Canada and the United States.
Participants are demanding that UQAM break its ties with Israeli institutions and reveal the extent of these relationships.
They are also calling on the Quebec government to reverse its decision to open the Quebec office in Tel Aviv.
For its part, UQAM asserts that its foundation has “no investment in armaments,” nor does it have “mobility or framework agreements with Israeli universities.”
In its request for an injunction, UQAM is not asking for the complete dismantling of the encampment.
Rather, it says it wants to ensure free circulation near the science complex.
In a press release, management noted that “access and emergency exits to university buildings are obstructed, several exterior surveillance cameras are obstructed, and the situation on and near the encampment has deteriorated overall.”
“It is increasingly barricaded, certain materials that have been accumulated there present risks, surfaces of certain pavilions have been vandalized, and hooded groups circulate there night and day,” the school stated.
UQAM is asking the court to issue a ruling to allow access and free circulation to its buildings, and to stop “any gesture or behaviour directly or indirectly leading to the degradation or deterioration of UQAM’s movable and immovable property.”
Two requests for injunctions concerning the pro-Palestinian camp set up on the McGill University campus were rejected in recent weeks.
— This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on May 27, 2024.