Police in Calgary say multiple people were arrested during a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Calgary Thursday night.
Video posted on social media showed officers tearing down makeshift fencing and tents prior to protesters leaving peacefully.
In a statement, Calgary police say they were notified around 6:30 p.m. about an encampment protest on the campus, which grew to 150 protesters at its peak.
After a few hours, police say they had encouraged about 60 protesters to leave.
Around 11:15 p.m., police say the remaining protesters were removed by arrest, with the number of people arrested and facing charges expected to be released on Friday.
Throughout the situation, police say projectiles were thrown their way, which at one point, led to officers using non-lethal munitions.
No injuries have been reported at this time.
The encampment began around 6:30 a.m. Thursday, with tents being set up. The number of demonstrators grew throughout the day.
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The University of Calgary provided the following statement on the protest:
“We are aware that the Calgary Police Service responded to our request regarding individuals gathered on campus today. They were informed multiple times this morning and evening of our policy not to permit temporary structures. Members of the campus community are free to protest, but they are not free to camp.”
In a notice to the campus community on Friday morning, University of Calgary’s president and vice-chancellor stressed that all members of the community have the right to free speech and the right to protest.
Ed McCauley went on to say that for safety and operational reasons, temporary structures as part of protests and overnight protests are not permitted.
“The individuals who set up the encampment were provided a written summary of the university’s policies and procedures and asked to remove their camp. They were issued a trespass notice when they refused to take the structures down,” McCauley said.
He said the police then began to enforce the university’s trespass order.
“Over the next three hours, police directed those in the encampment to remove themselves from the premises. Consistent with university policy and procedure, protesters were assured they were permitted back to the university to protest – as long as there were no temporary structures (including barricades and tents) and protests did not occur between the hours of 10 p.m. and 8 a.m.,” McCauley said.
The university president said counter-protesters showed up and also put themselves in violation of the school’s policies. The situation “very quickly devolved into shoving, projectiles being thrown at officers, and – ultimately – flash bangs and arrests,” McCauley said.
“The risk of serious violence is one of the primary reasons overnight protests are not permitted,” he continued.
“There is no satisfaction in a situation like yesterday’s.”
McCauley said he is committed to applying the rules evenly and with consideration to the safety and operation of the university.
The protesters, led by a group called the Calgary Student Movement, said they were objecting to the university’s ties with Israeli companies and institutions.
It was one of several protests on academic campuses in Canada and the United States in response to Israel’s offensive in Gaza.
Premier Danielle Smith was asked about the campus encampments during an unrelated news conference on Friday.
She said similar demonstrations in Ontario and Quebec have already become “out of control.”
“Universities can’t allow it to get out of control and they can’t allow hate speech,” Smith said.
“There are reasonable ways to protest and the University of Calgary, in particular, has said trespass and camping is not acceptable on their grounds and I understand they removed the encampments yesterday.”
Campuses are private property, Smith said, and universities have to take the lead on the response.
“I think what they found in Calgary is that a large number of the people who were trespassing were not students. I think we have to be mindful of that. Kids are having graduation ceremonies. A lot of these kids didn’t get a graduation ceremony for high school. It’s not fair for them or their families to be disrupted.
“I’m glad the University of Calgary made the decision that they did.”
The premier said she’ll watch how the University of Alberta responds and that the province is “on standby” if they need assistance.
“There should be no room for antisemitism and no room for hate crimes. So I would say that if it accelerates and escalates out of control and devolves into hate speech then I would say the universities have to deal with that swiftly.”
— with files from Global News
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