The University of Toronto’s attempt to clear a pro-Palestinian encampment on campus will be heard by the Superior Court of Justice on June 19 and 20.
The university had asked the courts for a hearing prior to planned graduation ceremonies that are schedule to run between June 3 and 21, but Justice Markus Koehnen said the mid-June dates were the earliest the hearing could be to allow the respondents to answer their application.
In legal documents filed on Monday, the school asked the courts to authorize police action to remove protesters who refused orders to leave, while also arguing it was not interfering with students’ ability to engage in respectful discussion and debate.
The protesters, meanwhile, said they were prepared to fight back with their own legal team and refused to leave the site, ignoring a deadline set in a trespass notice issued last week.
U of T president Meric Gertler said earlier this week, the school was asking a court for an expedited case conference while also continuing to negotiate with protesters.
“In addition to pursuing this legal avenue to return King’s College Circle to the university community, we continue to engage in discussions with students representing those in the encampment,” he wrote in a statement.
“We remain hopeful that we can reach an agreement and bring the unauthorized encampment to an end.”
The university filed a notice of motion in court aimed at bringing about an end to the encampment.
Among the relief sought, the university asked for an order authorizing police to “arrest and remove persons, objects and structures” who violate the terms of a court order. It also sought to prevent protesters from blocking access to university property or setting up fences, tents or other structures on campus.
The university argued the encampment has resulted in part of its campus not being available to other members to the school’s community or the public.
“The encampment raises serious health and safety concerns for the occupants, other members of the university community, and the public,” lawyers for the university wrote in legal documents.
University officials had issued a trespass notice on Friday ordering demonstrators to remove the encampment by 8 a.m. Monday.
The protesters, who set up tents in a large green space at the heart of the university’s downtown campus on May 2, were joined by faculty and labour groups for a rally outside the nearby Convocation Hall as the trespass deadline passed.