'Divest now': Students launch encampment at McGill University
Several students have launched an encampment at McGill University as they call on the institution to cut financial ties with Israel.
Several posts on social media show protesters joining hands in a circle around several tents that were set up on Saturday.
Protesters shouted "Divest now" and "Free Palestine." Posters circulating online state students from McGill and Concordia University are participating in the event to send the message to university administration that students "refuse to let their universities be complicit in genocide."
Montreal police said some officers are on site to monitor the event, but say campus security is in charge.
The encampment resembles those in several U.S. cities in recent days with anti-war protests ramping up on university campuses calling for an end to the massacre of civilians in Gaza.
On Saturday morning, McGill sent a communique to students informing them that "encampments are not permitted on our campus."
It also noted that "encampments can create serious health and safety concerns while increasing the potential for escalation and confrontation, as we have seen at some colleges throughout the U.S."
When asked by CTV News whether or not the tents would have to be removed, a spokesperson did not answer.
A university spokesperson wrote in an email Saturday afternoon that its security officers are on site and that "We support the rights of our campus community to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly within the bounds of McGill’s policies and the law. We also have a duty to create a respectful environment that creates the optimal conditions for carrying out our academic mission and that protects the health and safety of our community."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Some structural damage' from wildfire near Fort Nelson, B.C., mayor confirms
More than one home has been damaged or lost due to a massive wildfire outside of the B.C. community of Fort Nelson, the mayor confirmed Tuesday.
'Very expensive lunch': Sask. driver says he got a cellphone ticket for using his points app in the drive-thru
A warning from a Saskatoon driver about using your fast-food app while in the drive-thru line — a trip to get some free lunch cost him a lot more than he bargained for.
Chief says grave search at B.C. residential school brings things 'full circle'
Chief Robert Michell says relief isn't the right word to describe his reaction as the search begins for unmarked graves at the site of a former residential school he attended in northern British Columbia.
B.C. YouTuber ordered to pay $350K for 'relentless' online defamation campaign
An 'unrepentant' YouTuber has been ordered to pay $350,000 in damages as compensation for a 'relentless' campaign of defamation waged online against a business owner and his company, the B.C. Supreme Court has ruled.
'Endless Shrimp' just one misstep for Red Lobster as it eyes bankruptcy protection
While it's unclear what these closures might mean for the 27 restaurants in Canada, Red Lobster is expected to file for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. this month.
New study shows financial impact of homelessness on our health-care system
A new study out of London, Ont. lays out the cost of the homelessness crisis on our health-care system.
Ontario's 'Crypto King' Aiden Pleterski arrested
Of the $40-million Aiden Pleterski was handed over two years, documents show he invested just over one per cent and instead spent $15.9 million on "his personal lifestyle." The 25-year-old Oshawa, Ont. man was arrested and charged with fraud and money laundering on Tuesday.
B.C. man shot sex worker in the back during drug-fuelled birthday, court hears
A man from B.C.'s Lower Mainland has been sentenced to four years behind bars after shooting a sex worker in the back during a drug-fuelled 43rd birthday.
'Inhumane conditions': 68 dogs pulled from Winnipeg home
Nearly six dozen dogs were seized from a home Wednesday morning by the Winnipeg Humane Society. It is the largest known seizure of animals in the city’s history.