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Pro-Palestinian protesters dismantle encampment at University of Ottawa

  • The Canadian Press

  • Canadian Press

  • July 10, 2024

A general view of tents and tarps as pro-Palestinian protesters stage an encampment at Tabaret Hall at the University of Ottawa in Ottawa, on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. The University of Ottawa says pro-Palestinian protesters have dismantled their encampment and left the campus after more than two months.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby

OTTAWA -- The University of Ottawa says pro-Palestinian protesters have dismantled an encampment that had been on campus for two months.

University president Jacques Fremont says the encampment site is currently in a "deplorable state" and the school will be restoring the area.

A student-led group representing the protesters says on social media that the university didn't meet their demands, including the acknowledgment of anti-Palestinian racism and divesting its investments in Israel.

The group says the encampment is one of many tactics they were using, and they will continue to confront the university's administration on campus this coming year, and in the future.

Fremont says the university will uphold academic freedom and freedom of expression but notes a recent court ruling found the illegal occupation of spaces is not freedom of expression.

Last week, demonstrators cleared a two-month-old encampment at the University of Toronto's downtown campus after a judge granted the school's request for an injunction that would have allowed police to step in to remove and arrest protesters who stayed.

This report by was first published July 10, 2024.