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The University of Guelph has issued legal trespass notices to members of a pro-Palestinian encampment on its southern Ontario campus, seven weeks after tents were first erected there.
However, camp members said they have no immediate plans to leave.
The university said in a statement on its website Monday morning that it had asked camp members to voluntarily evacuate over the weekend.
“We made it clear in our letter to the camp members that the camp could not remain on campus indefinitely and asked them to leave by 8 p.m. Sunday,” the statement said. “Unfortunately, the camp members neither dismantled nor evacuated. As a result, we took the step of serving the camp members a legal notice of trespass this morning.”
Camp members called the timeline for closing the camp “unrealistic.”
The Palestinian People’s Square said in a statement that the decision to keep the camp open beyond the Sunday evening deadline imposed by the university was made because there was not enough time to dismantle it safely.
“The lack of any contact in a month since they rejected our proposal and the university’s request to remove it in less than 24 hours once again demonstrates the university’s dishonesty and ongoing intimidation tactics,” the camp said in an emailed statement.
University seeks injunction
The university said it would seek an injunction from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice if the camp members do not disband immediately.
“It was not our first choice to undertake this procedure,” the university said in an online statement.
“The camp’s unwillingness to consider anything less than immediate and complete divestment ignores the significant actions the university is taking to build a more inclusive and welcoming campus community.”
The University of Guelph said in a statement that a special committee at the university is currently considering the camp’s request to divest.
Setting up camp “in solidarity with Gaza”
On May 21, a group called UOGForPalestine set up about 20 tents in Branyan Plaza near the school library, similar to protests set up at other universities in Canada and the United States.
According to the group’s Instagram page, its protest is “in solidarity with Gaza and the continued fight for the University of Guelph to be free from genocide.”
Waida Mirzada, a University of Guelph student and spokesperson for the camping group, said the group has been “mobilizing for months” to make its voice heard at the university.
Waterloo Camp dismantled
Also in the region, protesters on Sunday dismantled a camp at the University of Waterloo that began on May 13. The university released Lawful Trespass Notification Camp members are dispatched Official notification on May 23 Tell group members to end their protest.
Members of Occupy Waterloo voluntarily dismantled their encampment on Sunday after eight weeks of protesting on the University of Waterloo campus. Officials with the group said their goal was to convince the University of Waterloo to divest from any company that supports Israel’s ongoing fight with Hamas in Gaza. The school had served legal trespass notices and was suing some members for $1.5 million, but said the lawsuit would be dropped after the encampment was dismantled.
On June 25, the university began Legal proceedings seeking an injunction ended the campus camp and sued group members for $1.5 million.
Mediation talks The announcement of the dismantling of the encampment follows talks between the university and protesters that took place on Friday.
Other similar pro-Palestinian protests and rallies include McGill University In Montreal, University of Toronto, McMaster University In Hamilton and University of WindsorSeveral of them have already been demolished.
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