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

University president Jacques Frémont 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.

Frémont 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 The Canadian Press was first published July 10, 2024.

The Canadian Press