Review finds University of Alberta had legal authority to clear pro-Palestinian encampment

A retired judge who reviewed the University of Alberta's decision to have police clear a pro-Palestinian encampment has determined the school had the legal authority to do so but could have responded differently. 

The university's board of governors asked retired Court of King's Bench Justice Adèle Kent to conduct an independent review of the university administration's actions in May, directing her to produce a report with conclusions and recommendations.

The 142-page report, which was published on Thursday, described the decision to call the police as a "reasonable" and "legally available" response to a "disruptive and potentially dangerous" situation but said applying for an injunction and negotiating with the protesters "would have been the cleanest route."

Encampment cleared after 2 days

Protesters established a pro-Palestinian encampment in the main quad on campus on May 9 and issued four demands, including that the university disclose and divest from companies "complicit in the occupation." 

Two days later, after several trespassing warnings were issued, Edmonton police officers cleared the encampment and forcefully removed protesters, at the university's request. 

Bill Flanagan, the university's president, said in a statement the following day that the encampment was associated with "serious and potentially life-threatening risks," citing the presence of wood pallets and "potential weapons, including hammers, axes and screwdrivers, along with a box of syringes." 

Police officers used batons, non-lethal ammunition filled with pepper spray and a muzzle blast containing pepper spray during the clearing. They arrested three men, but the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service later stayed the charges against them.

The university's decision to have police clear the encampment angered protesters, who described the encampment as respectful. It also prompted a non-confidence vote from the arts faculty council in the president's leadership, calls for an independent review and a review by Alberta's police watchdog.

Some groups reject review

Kent interviewed members of university administration, university associations, students and staff members for the review, but some of the people and groups involved decided not to talk with her.

In a July statement, the People's University for Palestine YEG said they rejected the investigation for a variety of reasons, including that it was too narrowly focused and legalistic.

Instead, the group invited Kent to a town hall, where she could hear from people most affected by the school's decisions.

Kent told them she could not attend because she needed to remain impartial. 

"We believe the terms of reference were very flawed," said Maksen Hocine, a spokesperson for Students for Justice in Palestine, another group that did not participate in the review.

The Muslim Students' Association, which also declined to participate, told Kent it also objected to the review's "legalistic approach."

Nour Salhi, a MacEwan University student and spokesperson for encampment organizers and the People's University for Palestine YEG, said she found the report's conclusions unsurprising. 

"Apparently, the laws of property matter more than our own safety and the human lives that are being lost in Palestine," she said. 

Hocine said the report was a disappointment and a continuation of the university's habit of refusing to acknowledge the harm it has caused to students.

Recommendations

Kent's review includes two sets of recommendations for the school.

They include shorter-term, administrative suggestions, like honouring an agreement to compensate campers for destroyed items, and institutional changes, such as developing a plan to engage with protesters and continuing to work on a responsible investment policy.

Kate Chisholm, chair of the university's board of governors, said in a statement on Thursday that work is going on to streamline the reporting process for crises on campus and review a policy on responsible investment.

"Other recommendations, such as those regarding the rights and responsibilities of protesting and respectful engagement, are being addressed through a number of initiatives built through community-wide action planning," she said.

Chisholm said the university will carefully review the recommendations and provide more detailed responses in the future.

David Kahane, a political science professor at U of A who was present during the encampment and read the report, said he doesn't have faith that the university will change course.

"This does not seem like an administration that is going to get onto a better track without a lot of outside pressure," he said.

Other university encampments

The encampment at the U of A was one of more than a dozen that arose on Canadian university campuses in the spring of 2024. 

Police forcibly removed an encampment at the University of Calgary the day it was set up, on May 9. 

Some schools, including the University of Toronto and Vancouver Island University, applied for and received injunctions — court orders to clear the encampments — while other schools, including Queen's University and McMaster University, negotiated settlements with protesters.

Kent wrote in her report that the U of A pursuing an injunction would have taken the decision-making out of the hands of administration. 

This "may have reduced the kind of residual mistrust and churn that has happened here," she wrote.