Day 20 of pro-Palestinian encampment at McGill: mayor wants to see students, university engage peacefully to end it

Thursday marked the 20th day of the pro-Palestinian encampment on McGill University’s downtown Montreal campus, and participants continued to celebrate a day after a Quebec judge on Wednesday ruled they could stay put.

“I don’t think anyone would have said would still be here on day 20, but I’m really grateful that we are,” said a McGill student and encampment participant.

Quebec’s Superior Court rejected the school’s emergency injunction request to dismantle it after a judge found lawyers didn’t demonstrate an urgent need, since there weren’t any violent incidents reported, and even a counter-protest unfolded peacefully.

“So far, two injunctions have been filed against us, and neither of them have gone our way. We are setting legal precedents here that I hope will continue to impact the future of student activism across Canada,” the student said.

McGill had argued the camp posed “security, public health and safety risks” and are expected to head back to court in an attempt to once again dismantle the camp with an interlocutory injunction, which would be a temporary order until a judge renders a ruling on the final injunction.

Valerie Plant Thursday reacted, saying she wants to see the students and McGill engage peacefully to end the encampment.

“The sooner the better they come up with a way, a compromise or a way out that will be done in a safe way, a peaceful way, like I believe Montreal is,” she said. “This is how we do things. We go through dialogue. We talk to each other. We find compromises.”

Encampment participants say they’re ready to stay as long as needed until the university divests from companies with ties to Israel and cuts ties with Israeli academic institutions.

“Since the beginning, this encampment has been very clear that we are ready and very willing to dismantle this peacefully when our demands are met,” the student said.