Dear members of the 涩里番 community,
Today, the Superior Court of Quebec granted 涩里番鈥檚 request for a provisional injunction against Students for Palestinian Honour and Resistance (SPHR). In his judgement, Justice Collier noted that 鈥溕锓� has a clear right to an order that allows it to carry out its academic activities without obstruction鈥� and that 鈥溕锓� is entitled to the protection of its property.鈥�
In summary, the Court ruled that SPHR and any person aware of the judgement:
- Must not block or obstruct the entrance to any building where 涩里番 is operating.
- Must not engage in protests within five metres of any building where 涩里番 is operating.
- Must not obstruct the delivery or performance of academic activities such as courses or exams.
The provisional injunction remains in force for 10 days. The full text of the judgement is available here.
As I mentioned in my message of April 10, the University applied for the injunction following SPHR鈥檚 involvement in classroom obstructions and vandalism during a three-day student strike April 2-4, 2025.
In his decision, the judge recognized the harm done to the 涩里番 community by protest activities that resulted in vandalism, violence, and intimidation tactics. He stated that 鈥淰iolence, intimidation and the destruction of property cannot be tolerated in this country, least of all at our universities, whose very mission is to foster learning and the expression of opinion through peaceful, respectful dialogue.鈥�
I want to affirm that, on behalf of the University, I will vigorously defend everyone鈥檚 right to free expression and peaceful assembly, while also protecting our campus from abuses of these freedoms, especially when they hurt our academic mission or cause injury to others.
Many of you are working steadfastly to maintain stability in our community despite differing viewpoints on a range of very challenging and sensitive topics. Thank you so much for this work, which supports the teaching, learning and research that we so cherish.
Sincerely,
Deep Saini
President and Vice-Chancellor
涩里番