Former students and professor file Charter challenge for encampment removal

Two former University of Alberta students and one professor have filed a legal challenge against the U of A’s decision to call Edmonton Police Services (EPS) to remove the Palestine solidarity encampment on May 11, 2024.

The filing alleges that the university violated sections 2 (b), (c), and (d) of the applicants’ Charter of Rights and Freedoms. These sections outline the freedom of thought, belief, opinion, and expression, freedom of peaceful assembly, and freedom of association, respectively.

The filing also argues that the forcible removal of the encampment was not reasonable or demonstrably justifiable under section 1 of the Charter.

The three applicants are Noor Abdo, Mustapha Yassin, and Michael Litwack. Abdo and Yassin are both Palestinian-Canadians and were students at the time of the encampment. Abdo is also one of the founders of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). Litwack is a Jewish-American and an associate professor in the department of English and film studies.

The filing states that the encampment came after months of the applicants trying to work with the university to address concerns around its investments in Israeli companies and organizations. Abdo and Yassin both claim to have faced hostility at the U of A after they expressed their Palestinian identity and solidarity with Palestinians.

Included in the filing are an account of the events that led up to the May 2024 encampment, including other events, protests, and communication with the university. This includes a one-day encampment held on April 22, 2024. After this one-day encampment, the filing states that Frank Page, the U of A Protective Services (UAPS) threat assessment program manager, “assured Abdo that those concerned about the issues raised at the encampment could engage in further protests on campus.”

The filing also alleges that the university told members of the encampment that the university would not remove the encampment as long as it remained peaceful.

The remedy sought in the filing includes an order declaring the decision to remove the encampment breached the applicants’ Charter rights. It also requests that the university covers the costs of the legal proceedings. 

U of A media relations said the university will be responding to the application through the court process. Media relations did not provide further comments.

“I hope that this Charter challenge will set a precedent in Canada,” Abdo says

Litwack told The Gateway that the case is about standing up to the U of A, “but also to every university in Canada that’s used intimidation, that’s used repression, that’s used violence as a way to stomp out opposition to the genocide that’s going on in Palestine.”

Yassin added that the Charter challenge is a symbol that the student movement has not ended and students “continue to demand change and accountability from our university for not only infringing on our charter freedoms, but also for its investment.”

The filing of the Charter challenge comes nearly two years after the encampment removal. According to Abdo, a lot of time was needed for the community to recover after the encampment removal.

Litwack echoed Abdo, emphasizing the emotional and other forms of labor that goes into solidarity movement.

Litwack described the Charter challenge as “precedent-setting” in that it “seeks to establish that Palestinian life is not an exception to the Charter.”

“I hope that this Charter challenge will set a precedent in Canada,” Abdo said.

Moving forward, the group seeks to “set an example all throughout the country that nowhere, not this university and not any other university, has the right to crush their students’ freedom of expression,” Yassin added.

The encampment

Students established the encampment, called the People’s University for Palestine, on the morning of May 9, 2024. Students, faculty, staff, and community members gathered on Main Quad in an effort to raise awareness about the violence against Palestinians following October 7, 2023.

On October 7, Hamas, a designated terrorist organization based in the Gaza Strip, attacked Israelis near the Gaza-Israel border. Hamas killed about 1,200 people and took another 250 hostage. In the following months, Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza and is estimated to have killed 75,000 Palestinians.

A ceasefire was reached last year, but violence continues. Several international organizations have called Israel’s actions a genocide.

The encampment called on the U of A to disclose investments in companies linked to Israel, divest from such companies, and to declare its opposition to Israel’s violence against Palestinians. 

After several trespass notices, the U of A asked EPS to remove the encampment. EPS cleared the encampment from Main Quad early in the morning of May 11.

Several campus groups condemned the U of A’s decision. The university hired Adele Kent to conduct a third-party review of the decision. Kent’s report found that while the encampment had been peaceful, the safety risks justified the U of A’s decision to have it removed.