Wednesday, July 8, 2026
ADVT 
National

Pro-Palestinian protesters dismantle UBC camp

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 08 Jul, 2024 05:10 PM
  • Pro-Palestinian protesters dismantle UBC camp

A pro-Palestinian protest camp that had occupied a sports field at the University of British Columbia's Vancouver campus for more than two months has been dismantled by the demonstrators.

Dozens of tents had been removed by Monday, although barricades and fencing around the site remain in place.

A statement from UBC says "protesters decamped from MacInnes Field" adjacent to the school's transit loop and student union building on Sunday, but did not elaborate. 

A spokeswoman for the protest camp confirmed in a text message that it had closed.

A UBC security guard at MacInnes Field who declined to be named said the protesters vacated the site without giving any notice on Sunday evening.

Guards were patrolling the area Monday to prevent unauthorized people from entering the field while they waited for cleanup crews to arrive.

On Friday, more than 35 tents and a small handful of people were visible at the site that had been occupied since late April by protesters demanding that UBC end any financial or academic ties with Israeli companies or institutions.

A spokeswoman for Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo, B.C., said it had no update on a protest camp there. The University of Victoria did not respond to requests for updates on an encampment at its campus.

The low-key closure of the UBC camp came after another protest site at the University of Toronto was vacated last week. That came after a judge ruled in favour of an injunction sought by the school to clear the camp.

Ontario Superior Court Justice Markus Koehnen ruled the encampment took away the school’s ability to control what happened on its properties. The result, Koehnen said, amounted to irreparable harm.

"In our society, we have decided that the owner of property generally gets to decide what happens on the property," Koehnen’s decision said.

University of Ottawa professor Michael Geist had said the Ontario decision could act as a road map for other schools looking to remove protest camps. He said its reliance on property law meant schools could issue trespass notices to protesters before starting the legal process of clearing them out.

Protesters at several Canadian schools including UBC issued a joint statement on social media last week calling the Ontario decision "shameful" for prioritizing property ownership over students' rights.

The statement said protesters would "continue to act on our campuses and apply pressure to our universities through every possible avenue."

The UBC camp once included about 75 tents and was bustling with music and activity, but at one point on Friday only three people could be seen inside the fenced zone.

Vancouver Island University had said in a statement last week after the Ontario court decision that it was "exploring similar legal avenues taken by other institutions."

The school said about 25 protesters occupied a school building in late June and disrupted an exam, while another building was vandalized over the Canada Day long weekend.

Vancouver Island University said its settlement proposal to the protesters had been rejected, and the escalation of disruptions on campus shows "encampment participants are unwilling to engage in good-faith dialogue."

MORE National ARTICLES

Drug alert in Chilliwack

Drug alert in Chilliwack
A drug alert has been issued by Fraser Health after benzodiazepines were detected in vape juice containing cannabis and synthetic cannabinoids. The Mounties say the tainted products are being sold in clubs and bars, but may also be sold elsewhere.  

Drug alert in Chilliwack

Suspect wanted in fraud

Suspect wanted in fraud
R-C-M-P are looking for a suspect wanted in a fraud and identity theft case that has resulted in more than 200 charges being laid. The Mounties say two others have been taken into custody after a vehicle stop in March led to the seizure of multiple forged documents.  

Suspect wanted in fraud

B.C. Mountie charged with dangerous driving causing bodily harm

B.C. Mountie charged with dangerous driving causing bodily harm
The BC Prosecution Service says the charge for Cst. Robby Pawar stems from an incident that is alleged to have happened on Dec. 3, 2021, in Delta, B.C. The Mountie's first appearance is scheduled to take place on August 2, 2023 in Surrey Provincial Court.

B.C. Mountie charged with dangerous driving causing bodily harm

Union and employers receive mediator's terms to end B.C. port strike, source says

Union and employers receive mediator's terms to end B.C. port strike, source says
The delivery of the terms comes after federal Labour Minister Seamus O'Regan late Tuesday instructed the mediator to send him the terms within 24 hours so he could forward them to the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada and the B.C. Maritime Employers Association.

Union and employers receive mediator's terms to end B.C. port strike, source says

Four years after passage of law on abandoned boats, only two fines have been levied

Four years after passage of law on abandoned boats, only two fines have been levied
The government introduced the Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels Act in 2017. It passed in February 2019 and took effect that July. It made it illegal to abandon a boat in Canada and gives the government the power to go after boat owners when their vessels are wrecked or left behind, including fines up to $1 million.

Four years after passage of law on abandoned boats, only two fines have been levied

High speed chase on Surrey's Hwy 99

High speed chase on Surrey's Hwy 99
Police say it started just after nine last night when the driver of the C-L-S-550 fled the traffic stop, and the vehicle was located a short time later on Highway 99 south of the Serpentine River overpass. The investigation closed the highway for hours, but traffic is now moving again.   

High speed chase on Surrey's Hwy 99