Updated: Plante and McGill spar as Victoria Square encampment dismantled

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There has been a lack of leadership at McGill University when it comes to how it has handled the pro-Palestinian encampment on its campus, Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante said Friday.

Plante made the comment after Montreal police and city workers dismantled a pro-Palestinian encampment that was established in downtown Victoria Square last month.

The encampment at McGill was established on April 27. Two Quebec judges have rejected requests — one from the university, one from two students — to order protesters to clear that camp.

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McGill University President Deep Saini has said the university had asked Montreal police to clear the camp, but were refused.

“They chose to go to court, and they have to be accountable for that,” Plante told reporters on Friday, saying the university should revise its strategy for finding an end to the encampment.

“Other universities were able to find a solution and a peaceful way out, that’s what people expect. … Everyone expects the the dean, at such an important institution, McGill University, to find the right path. We all have to deal with a context that is moving very quickly, this is difficult what we’re all going through as a city right now because of the conflict.

“Their reputation is being tainted by their incapacity to find a way out other than going to court.”

Police and city workers began clearing out the Victoria Square camp around 5 a.m., asking the 15 or so protesters on site to pack their belongings and leave.

A heavy police presence surrounded the square throughout the operation, including officers on horseback. Police officers appeared to be leading protesters back into the encampment one by one to let them gather their belongings. Several campers packed up and left with large bags and crates. They declined to speak with a reporter on their way out.

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City workers took apart the steel fences and removed any remaining signs, using ladders to reach the last of the banners hanging from the trees, including the largest, which read: “Palestine will be free within our lifetime.” Tarps, wooden pallets and other structures used for the camp were loaded into garbage trucks parked beside the square.

The majority of the camp had been removed by mid-morning. As of late morning, streets on all sides of the square were closed to traffic.

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In an interview from the site Friday morning, a spokesperson for one of the groups behind the protest denounced the dismantling by police, which came without warning in the early hours of the morning.

“I’m mind-boggled by the approach taken. I think this is the most heavy-handed police operation we’ve seen in regards to camps in Quebec,” said Niall Clapham Ricardo of Independent Jewish Voices.

“Obviously, this is a setback, but that doesn’t mean that the battle is lost,” he added. “We’re going to continue fighting to make sure all of our public institutions in Quebec aren’t complicit in the genocide in Gaza and divest from war.”

In a statement issued after the dismantlement was completed, those behind the encampment said they woke up to being surrounded by police officers at 5 a.m.

“They then forcibly evicted all the campers, destroying part of the camp’s facilities in the process,” they said.

“This police action violates our right to freedom of expression and our right to demonstrate,” they added. “It constitutes an attack on the very values of democracy and justice.”

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No arrests were made in connection with the encampment itself on Friday.

However, officers on site recognized an 18-year-old man “on the outskirts of the encampment” who was wanted for allegedly assaulting a police officer on June 25. The man was arrested and brought to a local police station for questioning.

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In a short statement issued before holding a news conference, Plante had said the encampment posed “major safety issues” for those on site as well as people who work nearby, in addition to contravening a municipal bylaw.

“The right to demonstrate is a fundamental right protected by the charters, but this right cannot interfere with the right to safety and free movement in the public space,” Plante said.

“A public place cannot be permanently and statically occupied, regardless of the cause,” she added. “Public space must remain public.”

Protesters erected the encampment in Victoria Square on June 22. Organizers said this week roughly 50 people have been staying there since.

The protesters have been calling on Quebec’s Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec to divest from Israeli-linked firms and for the province to withdraw its office in Tel Aviv, created last August to strengthen economic ties between the province and Israel.

The Caisse’s offices were sprayed with red and black paint this week, though the protesters said they were not behind the vandalism.

Last week, people had attempted to topple the nearby Queen Victoria statue and had tied a large Palestinian flag to it.

jfeith@postmedia.com

This story will be updated.

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