McGill seeking new injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment on campus

MONTREAL – McGill University says it’s going to court again to dismantle the pro-Palestinian encampment that has been set up on its downtown Montreal campus since late April.

Earlier this week McGill failed to convince a Superior Court judge that the situation at the encampment was sufficiently urgent to justify a provisional injunction.

The university says it will now apply for an interlocutory injunction, which focuses less on urgency and more on legal rights at the heart of the dispute.

McGill says its campus is private property and that it has the right to determine how its grounds are used.

It says its new application is to stop “an indefinite occupation of its property” and not to stop protests on campus.

Protesters have set up dozens of tents on McGill’s lower field, demanding the university divest from investments in companies tied to Israel’s military and to cut ties with Israeli institutions.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 17, 2024.