Message to the University of Alberta Community: Camp Update

I would like to thank the many members of our university community and members of the public for writing to me over the past day to express their deep concern about the university’s decision to seek assistance from Edmonton police to remove the encampment from the Quad yesterday. . This was an extremely difficult decision for me and the university to make. As a university, freedom of expression is a core value. We must remain a place for open debate and dialogue, including on controversial and controversial issues. We must do everything we can to facilitate discussion and learning. This includes providing space for public protests that some members of our community may find offensive or objectionable.

At the same time, we also have a fundamental duty of care, legally and morally, to members of our University community to ensure their safety and to take all reasonable steps to prevent harm. Although the general public may assume that encampment poses no risks, it is essential to highlight the serious, even life-threatening, risks associated with encampment in the Quad.

We fully understand that the majority of members of the encampment, particularly our students, were peaceful and posed no threat to public safety. However, this did not extend to all members of the camp. To our knowledge, only 25% of the camp’s occupants were University of Alberta students. Most of the people in the camp were not members of the university community. Some camp members were collecting wooden pallets, materials known to be used to make barricades – actions contrary to peaceful, law-abiding protests. The fire inspector declared that the presence of these pallets posed a fire hazard. Although we asked camp members to remove all pallets, we found 17 wooden pallets located within 150 meters of the camp. While dismantling the tents yesterday morning we found potential weapons including hammers, axes and screwdrivers, as well as a box of needles.

There is no doubt that the encampment posed a serious and imminent risk of violence and potential injury to members of the University community and the public.

Given that the encampment was on university premises and involved members of the university community, the university has a clear legal and moral duty to take reasonable steps to ensure the safety of those present. No court or tribunal of public opinion would accept an excuse from the university that because the encampment was unauthorized, the university bears no responsibility for the associated injuries or violence at the camp. If anyone had been injured or killed, the responsibility would fall squarely on the university. Everyone would rightly ask: how could the university have done nothing to prevent this?

As a university, we simply do not have the resources or expertise to manage an encampment of this size and complexity and ensure public safety. We have no way of monitoring the encampment to make sure there are no weapons or illegal drugs. We have seen that these encampments can quickly spiral out of control and attract the attention of counter-protesters, as happened at the University of Calgary and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). With our limited security resources, we have no way to protect the encampment from escalating tensions and potential violence in the event of counter-protesters.

The only reasonable step we have to ensure public safety and security is to take steps to end the encampment in the most peaceful and respectful manner possible while reinforcing our commitment to freedom of expression and protests legal. This is what we had to do yesterday. The vast majority of the camp’s occupants left peacefully. A small minority refused to leave and the Edmonton Police Service took steps to evict them. Three people were charged. The charges included assault on a peace officer, obstruction and trespassing. No members of the university community have been charged. The university did not block any members of the University of Alberta community involved in the encampment from campus and no students were suspended or faced academic sanctions.

As we all witness the current acute humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the loss of so many innocent lives in this brutal conflict, I fully understand the deep concern and outrage that many in our community may feel. We all know that this conflict is complex and deeply rooted in history. As an academic community, we must do all we can to facilitate dialogue, debate and understanding. This includes public protests. As I said yesterday, peaceful protests are welcome on our college campuses, but they must also occur in accordance with university policies. They cannot violate any law or public safety regulations or pose unacceptable risks to campus safety and security.

Our commitment to the safety of our community must remain our top priority. Yesterday’s encampment posed a clear and imminent threat to the safety and security of the campus. We took reasonable steps to end the encampment while reaffirming our fundamental commitment to freedom of expression. Yesterday, around 500 people gathered peacefully in the Quad to protest the ongoing conflict in Gaza and demand a ceasefire. They were welcomed to our campus and all peaceful protesters who respect university policies will continue to be welcome.

Our primary concern – and our first responsibility – is the safety and well-being of our students and other members of the university community. We will continue to do everything we can in the days ahead to continue to balance as best we can our duty of care to members of the University community and our fundamental commitment to free expression.