Trudeau says universities are for ‘free speech,’ but people must feel safe amid pro-Palestinian protests

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says universities are places of free speech and debate but that everyone must feel safe on campus, adding that it’s up to universities and local police forces to manage pro-Palestinian protests that have ramped up across the country.

Mr. Trudeau declined Friday to say whether he supports the university encampments, saying he has weighed in repeatedly on the angst, anger and fear felt by both Jewish and Palestinian people after the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas on Israel and the subsequent retaliation by Israeli forces on Gaza.

“Universities are places where the freedom of speech, the freedom of ideas, the challenge of debate, of dialogue, of discussion about how to shape the world, how to see the world, how to go on out after university or college and leave the world, are a core part of what campuses are all about,” Mr. Trudeau said at a housing announcement in Hamilton on Friday.

“At the same time, we need to make sure that as part of that everyone can feel safe on campus, whether you’re a Jewish student, whether you’re Palestinian, whether you have strong feelings on one side or the other, and on that we have to trust both universities to manage their campuses right and local police of jurisdiction to do their work to make sure that everyone is safe.”

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Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow also said Friday that she understands people want to express themselves about the events in the Middle East, and that they have the right to assemble as long as it’s done without hate. She said the University of Toronto, where a protest was launched early Thursday morning, is a private space and it’s up to the university to “work out what their security arrangement is with the police.”

Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s office declined to comment. But a spokesperson for Minister of Colleges and Universities Jill Dunlop issued a statement.

“As they would with any other illegal act, we expect that institutions will work with police and campus security to address any incidents of hate and racism, unauthorized encampments and occupations, and all other forms of discrimination at their institutions,” Liz Tuomi said.

Amnesty International Canada on Friday urged universities, government and law enforcement “to ensure the safe protection of people’s right to protest at on-campus demonstrations and counterprotests emerging across the country.”

At the University of Toronto, protesters are demanding the school divest from companies connected to Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory.

Those demands are similar to those put forth by encampment organizers at McGill University, where protesters have been on campus since Saturday, and at the University of British Columbia and the University of Victoria, where encampments began this week. A wave of protests has also swept across dozens of campuses in the U.S. that has included violent clashes and police action.

The encampment at the U of T had grown to about 60 tents Friday, and organizers estimated that about 120 people spent the night on the grounds of King’s College Circle at the heart of the St. George campus.

Late Thursday night, a rally in support of the encampment had grown to nearly a thousand people as a 10 p.m. deadline to leave campus loomed. But shortly before that time, the university announced it would allow demonstrators to stay if their activities remained peaceful.

Erin Mackey, a U of T student and protest organizer, said the night was quiet and demonstrators didn’t encounter any disruptions.

“We are here demanding that the University of Toronto divest from Israeli apartheid and its complicity in the ongoing genocide and occupation of Palestine,” Ms. Mackey said. “We have an ethical investments policy. All we’re asking is for them to adhere to that policy.”

In an April letter to protest organizers, U of T president Meric Gertler said university policy on divestment states that it will not consider restrictions on its investments that would require the taking of sides in a matter subject to continuing academic debate.

Hillel, a group that advocates for Jewish students on campus, said it was concerned the encampment had contributed to rising tensions and called on the university to follow its policies. It said that after the deadline to clear the protest was allowed to pass, Jewish students were left wondering “what it will take for the university to act.”

Alejandro Paz, a professor of anthropology and member of the Jewish Faculty Network, said the university was wise not to use police force to try to disperse the encampment. He said administrators should celebrate the commitment their students are showing as they take their education into their own hands.

“In order for Israelis and Palestinians to have a future together, we need more students like this who are willing to challenge the restrictions placed on Palestinian freedom,” Prof. Paz said.

With a report from Oliver Moore