McGill withdraws amnesty, toughens tone on pro-Palestinian protesters

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As the encampment at McGill’s downtown campus by pro-Palestinian protesters entered its 50th day, the university’s president announced he is withdrawing an offer of amnesty to students involved in the protest and reminded all levels of government and police that “the encampment and related harmful activities cannot be dealt with by any university on its own.”

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In an emailed message delivered to the McGill community on Tuesday morning, university president Deep Saini said “the circumstances that we are experiencing go well beyond McGill University. Rather, they represent an issue of grave and profound concern to civil society more broadly.”

Saini said that over the course of the last 50 days, “we have seen a series of completely unacceptable incidents take place and have sought assistance from the police to address these matters. … As it has become clear that no fruitful outcome will result from these talks, we are ceasing discussions.”

Saini repeated his description of the encampment as “an unauthorized and illegal occupation of McGill property” that has “led to alarming behaviours,” including “targeted harassment and intimidation of students, staff and faculty,” the “forceful entry and illegal occupation of the James Administration building,” the “hanging of a political figure’s effigy at the Roddick Gates” and “incendiary and provocative rhetoric, signage and graffiti both at the encampment and throughout the campus that intimidate, inflict harm and are often experienced as antisemitic.”

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Saini wrote that given the repeated refusal of protesters to meet to negotiate their demands, “a limited disciplinary amnesty to students and staff prior to June 15″ has been withdrawn and “the university will pursue disciplinary processes against individuals participating in the encampment to the full extent outlined in our policies. We are also investigating the full spectrum of legal recourses available to us to recover from the damages incurred.”

Saini’s message comes a day after Montreal police announced they had opened an investigation and are consulting the Royal Canadian Mounted Police concerning a social media post advertising a “youth summer program” at the pro-Palestinian encampment at McGill University. The photo accompanying the post depicted at least two people who were armed.

Montreal police said on Monday they have opened an investigation into that post and are consulting the Royal Canadian Mounted Police on how to proceed.

Jewish leaders and several federal and provincial politicians have denounced the post as an explicit incitement to violence, with some declaring it a hate crime.

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On Monday, a McGill student who identified herself as an organizer of the encampment told The Gazette the accusations of hate speech regarding the Instagram post are “unfounded.” She said the image is “a historical image that shows a colonized people reading about another colonized people” and it “symbolizes the dynamic between struggle and education.”

“I find it a bit hypocritical to criticize (use of) the image of a gun when McGill is actually funding real weapons,” she added. “They (McGill’s administration) haven’t even been able to condemn genocide yet, so I take (the accusations of hate speech) with a grain of salt.”

At a news briefing on Monday afternoon, Montreal police spokesperson David Shane called the post “in very bad taste” but did not go so far as to label it a hate crime.

“This publication, which invites young people to take part in workshops at the camp, is a cause for concern as it features an image of an assault rifle. We understand the fears this publication may arouse. We are investigating the matter and have been in contact with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. … We know they have expertise in matters of terrorism, for example, so we just wanted to exchange about best practices (on) how to deal with this file,” he said.

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But he said the post does not name any specific target for violence, implied or otherwise.

“At this moment what we can see in that (post), there is no group identified. One of the elements for it to be declared a hate crime, there has to be one of 14 discriminated-against groups targeted. So we don’t have that. We are looking at how to proceed. It’s clear that when we look at it, it’s in very bad taste. It is the kind of thing that makes the population insecure. We understand that. That’s why we have opened an investigation and we will get to the bottom of it.”

Earlier Monday, hundreds of members of Montreal’s Jewish community and their allies protested at City Hall, calling on the city to do more to counter antisemitism.

At the SPVM’s news briefing, Shane gave an update on measures the police force has been taking to deal with the increase in hate crimes and hate incidents against members of both the Jewish and the Arab/Muslim communities of Montreal since the current war in the Middle East began.

He said the SPVM is in close contact with representatives of the Jewish and Arab/Muslim communities, and meetings are held regularly to “exchange views and adapt our actions accordingly.”

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Between Oct. 7, 2023 and June 12, 2024, 146 hate crimes and 104 hate incidents have been recorded by the SPVM against both groups combined. To date, 31 files have been submitted to the director of criminal and penal prosecutions (DPCP), and one suspect has been arrested in connection with a shooting at a Jewish school in the Côte-des-Neiges—Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough on Nov. 12.

He said SPVM officers have supervised more than 250 demonstrations over that period, almost all of which took place “in an orderly fashion,” he noted.

With regard to the pro-Palestine encampment, he said the police have no legal foundation to dismantle it at this point. McGill has applied to the Superior Court of Quebec to have it ordered dismantled and legal proceedings are still underway.

He said the SPVM will intervene “if situations require,” as it did on June 6 when demonstrators occupied parts of the James Administration Building. Fifteen people were arrested in that incident; 13 were charged with breaking and entering, and two with obstructing a police officer.

He said the police cannot intervene until the Superior Court decides the question of whether the university’s right to enjoy its private property supersedes the right to freedom of expression. He noted the university campus is not the same as a private backyard, for example, as the campus is usually open to the public. Judges have twice ruled that there is no urgent reason to remove the encampment before the question is decided, he noted.

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Of the total of 250 hate crimes and hate incidents recorded by the SPVM between Oct. 7, 2023 and June 12, 2024 against the Jewish, Muslim and/or Arab communities, 70 were against members of the Arab and/or Muslim communities and 180 were against members of Jewish communities. (Hate crimes in this context are criminal acts that are motivated by prejudice on the basis of religion. Hate incidents are actions that are not listed as crimes in the criminal code, but that may affect people’s sense of safety, such as the distribution of offensive material, insults and offensive gestures. The SPVM monitors hate incidents in order to intervene before hate crimes are committed.)

There were 11 hate crimes against property associated with Arab/Muslim communities and 43 hate crimes against property associated with Jewish communities. There were a total of 33 hate crimes reported against people who are members of Arab/Muslim communities and 59 against members of Jewish communities. There were 26 hate incidents that targeted members of Arab/Muslim communities and 78 hate incidents that targeted members of Jewish communities.

Anyone who sees or is a victim of a hate crime or incident should contact 911, their local police station or Infocrime Montreal, where they can report their complaint anonymously, by calling 514-393-1133.

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