Judge grants order banning disruptive pro-Palestinian protests at McGill

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McGill University has been granted a wide-ranging temporary injunction banning disruptive protests on its campus or within five metres of its buildings.

The institution has been the focal point of pro-Palestinian activism in Montreal, with protesters staging a 75-day encampment earlier this year and breaking through a campus security perimeter and smashing windows of university buildings on Monday.

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The 10-day injunction, granted by Quebec Superior Court Justice Babak Barin on Wednesday, targets the McGill chapter of Students for Palestine’s Honour and Resistance (SPHR) but also applies to anyone who knows about the order.

SPHR McGill and other pro-Palestinian groups have, via social media, announced a “week of rage” between Oct. 7 and Oct. 11.

In a Sept. 18 Instagram post about the protest, SPHR said: “No business or classes as usual during the university-funded genocide in Gaza.” The post featured videos of protesters spraying graffiti, occupying university buildings and confronting security guards.

McGill said that based on SPHR’s past actions, the week of rage could “seriously impede the delivery of courses and other activities that are essential to the academic program of thousands of students and instructors.”

This week is the peak mid-term examination period, with 13,600 exams scheduled, the university said.

In his 12-page ruling, Barin said “the content and message of the video posted by (SPHR) on Instagram … make it urgent for (McGill) to seek some form of redress immediately.”

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He said he agrees McGill has a right “to control access to and the use of its property and that students and community members have a fundamental right to security and to be free from discrimination and harassment.”

In addition, the McGill community has “the right not to be intimidated or harassed when attending classes or work, or otherwise seeking to gain access or use of the educational institution’s buildings and campus.”

The injunction bans protesters from “blocking or otherwise obstructing or hindering, in whole or in part, the entrance or exits to any buildings and streets or walkways directly connected to entrances and exits of buildings on McGill’s campus, as well as any buildings used for McGill’s operations, including but not limited to offices, classrooms or research labs.”

The order also prohibits protest activities within five metres of any McGill building and says protesters must not intimidate, harass or threaten McGill students, employers or visitors as they enter or exit McGill buildings.

Protesters must also refrain from “disturbing the peace or engaging in public disturbance” inside or outside McGill buildings.

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The judge ordered SPHR to publish the injunction on its Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and X social media pages.

McGill told the judge that it was unable to contact SPHR about its application for the injunction. It said it submitted similar documents to SPHR in the past, but the group has “never reacted to them or presented itself to court.”

In an email to the McGill community on Wednesday night, the university said it sought the injunction “to protect its academic mission and to defend students’ and instructors’ right to learn and work in an environment that is safe, stable and suitable for teaching, learning and research.”

The university said it “supports the rights of all community members to express their views through peaceful assembly, which includes demonstrations and protests.”

“This injunction does not prevent anyone from exercising their rights to free speech and free assembly, on campus or elsewhere, within the limits imposed by the court.”

SPHR was among the groups that organized Montreal protests on Monday, the one-year anniversary of Hamas’s attack on Israel and the beginning of Israel’s retaliation.

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McGill’s downtown campus was one of the areas targeted. The campus was supposed to be in lockdown, with only students allowed in. However, many protesters breached security and marched through campus. Windows of at least two buildings were smashed.

McGill said one of its security guards was assaulted during the protest. Montreal police reported no arrests.

SPHR was among the groups behind an encampment at McGill that ended on July 10. It was part of an effort to pressure the university to divest from companies that protesters said were complicit in war and genocide.

Riot police were called to some pro-Palestinian protests at McGill after windows were smashed and an administration building was occupied earlier this year.

Last week, a judge issued a temporary order barring certain pro-Palestinian groups and activists from blocking access to Concordia University or attempting to disrupt any classes.

During Hamas’s attack, about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed, and hundreds were taken captive.

Since Israel declared war on Hamas, more than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health authority. Just over half of the dead were women and children, according to the Associated Press.

ariga@postmedia.com

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