McGill University: encampment an illegal occupation, not a peaceful protest

On Wednesday, the Montreal Gazette featured an opinion article penned by McGill University’s president and vice-chancellor calling the encampment on campus an illegal occupation.

In the article, Deep Saini said that through discussions of “good faith” the university has tried to reach a mutual understanding.

Saini states that the university has offered to examine divestment from companies whose revenues largely come from weapons, in ways that are “geographically neutral” and align with their values.

The university also offered to strengthen McGill’s connections with scholars and institutions in Gaza and the West Bank, while also offering urgent help to students and scholars displaced by the conflict.

Lastly, Saini stated that, where permitted, McGill University would be transparent in its investment reporting to include equity holdings under $500,000.

McGill University will head back to court on July 25^th in an effort to once again ask a judge to order the dismantling of the pro-Palestinian encampment.

Geneviève Grey, a lawyer representing Palestinian and Jewish Unity, defendants in the case, says she hopes McGill’s administration will take this opportunity to negotiate with the students before the next hearing.

“This is not the kind of case that everything will just stagnate for months on end,” says Grey, “I believe that McGill would like to get the protesters out of there quicker.”

Grey says there is a possibility that McGill takes action sooner, if anything changes.

“They would still have to notify us but there is obviously a potential for another injunction coming up.”   

Since April 27, student protesters at McGill University were the first in Canada to set up a pro-Palestinian encampment. For nearly a month, protesters have been calling on the university to divest from businesses with interests in Israel, and to cut ties with Israeli institutions.

Protesters have maintained they won’t move until their demands are met.

On May 10, McGill University announced it requested an injunction to dismantle the pro-Palestinian encampment on its downtown Montreal campus, citing health and safety concerns.

Five days later, a Quebec judge rejected the injunction request.

“McGill does not want the protesters there forever. The best way to get them out of there is to negotiate,” said Grey.