An Ontario court has granted an injunction to the University of Toronto to clear a pro-Palestinian encampment on school property.
The Ontario Superior of Court of Justice ruled Tuesday that protesters must take down tents in an area known as King’s College Circle by Wednesday at 6 p.m.
The order by Justice Markus Koehnen also gives Toronto police the authority to arrest and remove anyone who refuses to comply with the court order.
U of T Occupy for Palestine, the organizers of the encampment, said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that the decision means that the school has been granted the “immoral license to unleash police violence” on students.
“The university’s shameful attempt to use legal force to brutalize its own students — for the crime of protesting genocide— will go down in history as a disgraceful chapter for this institution,” the post reads.
The University of Toronto said in a statement that the decision will restore King’s College Circle for use by all members of the university community.
“We trust that those in the encampment will abide by the court order and vacate the encampment before the court-imposed deadline. Anyone who chooses to remain in the encampment after that deadline will be subject to consequences under university policy and the law,” a spokesperson for the school said.
Protesters set up tents at the site of U of T’s downtown campus on May 2. Organizers of the encampment have called on the university to cut its ties with Israel, divest from companies profiting from Israel’s offensive in Gaza and end partnerships with the country’s academic institutions deemed complicit in the war.
The encampment is part of a massive wave of pro-Palestinian demonstrations at post-secondary institutions in Canada and the United States.
Israel launched its attack after Hamas led a surprise assault on southern Israel on Oct. 7, which left roughly 1,200 dead and saw around 250 people taken hostage. Israel’s offensive has left 37,000 dead in Gaza, according to Palestinian tallies.
The top United Nations court has concluded there is a plausible risk of genocide in Gaza — a charge Israel has strongly denied.
School administrators held meetings with protesters to bring an end to the encampment through dialogue, but later filed for an injunction to allow police to clear the encampment.
Lawyers for the university argued at the injunction hearing that the protest breaches school policies, infringes on others’ free speech rights and has made members of the community feel unsafe or unwelcome.
The school asked the court to authorize police action to remove protesters who refuse to leave, arguing the encampment is causing irreparable harm to the institution.
It has also sought to prevent protesters from blocking access to university property or setting up fences, tents or other structures on campus.
In their court filings, the protesters said the school’s claims of irreparable harm are “grounded in troubling mischaracterizations” of the encampment as violent and antisemitic.
They also argued that clearing the encampment would violate their protected rights to free expression and peaceful assembly.