Judge grants injunction against encampment

Protesters have until 6 p.m. today to tear down tent village

- BEN COHEN AND JACQUES GALLANT

Superior Court Justice Markus Koehnen wrote that the protesters' conduct is actually "inconsistent" with freedom of expression, and that there is "ample judicial authority" that says people don't have the right to occupy property that doesn't belong to them.

A judge has granted the University of Toronto an injunction against the pro-Palestinian encampment that has occupied King’s College Circle since the start of May.

Protesters now have until 6 p.m. Wednesday to tear down the tent village they have been living in for the last several weeks. If they refuse, Toronto police have the authority to break in and arrest them.

In a 96-page decision released Tuesday afternoon, Superior Court Justice Markus Koehnen found that the university had made a strong case for trespassing and that it has been dispossessed of its property.

“Case law is clear that exercising freedom of expression is not a defence to trespass,” the judge wrote. “The university has suffered irreparable harm because of the protesters’ continued appropriation of Front Campus and their exclusion of others from Front Campus.”

He said the injunction would not prevent protesters from continuing to protest wherever they want on campus, but it would stop them from camping and building structures that block entry to university property.

It would also prohibit protests from happening between the hours of 11 p.m. and 7 a.m.

In a statement to the Star, Toronto police spokesperson Stephanie Sayer confirmed police would enforce the court order, but would not say when.

“The court order clearly states that the timing and manner of police action is at our discretion,” she said. “We are determining those operational details.”