Court Says University of Toronto Encampment Protestors Have Been Peaceful and Not Hateful, But Grants University Permission To Remove Them

Nonetheless, the court reiterated in its ruling that this case turned on the issue of the appropriation of property, nothing more.

The court expressly found that the protests have been peaceful, and described the protesters as “young idealists fighting for what they in good faith perceive to be an important human rights issue.”

The court emphasized that such peaceful protest, even when taking place on university campuses, are subject Charter values.

Moreover, the court’s decision also specified that the language used by the encampment activists did not amount to hate. These include expressions include, “From the River to the Sea”, “Glory to the Martyrs” and “intifada.”

Specifically, the court’s decision found that the protestors did not engage in hate or Antisemitism, but were motivated by the horrifying events overseas in Gaza.

NCCM had intervened in this case to draw the court’s attention to the University of Toronto’s usage of Islamophobic and anti-Palestinian stereotypes when portraying these peaceful protestors as hateful, dangerous and discriminatory.

The court has now agreed that these encampment activists have not engaged in any forms of hatred and have been using peaceful tactics to stand up for human rights issues.