August 1, 2024
VANCOUVER – A judge of the Supreme Court of British Columbia has granted B’nai Brith Canada intervenor status in Vancouver Island University (VIU)’s legal effort to dislodge an anti-Israel encampment on its property.
Along with B’nai Brith Canada, other intervenors include:
- The British Columbia Civil Liberties Association;
- The British Columbia Federation of Students;
- Canadian Lawyers for International Human Rights;
- The Centre for Free Expression;
- Independent Jewish Voices Canada;
- The Jewish Faculty Network, with the United Jewish People’s Order;
- The National Council of Canadian Muslims, with the Arab Canadian Lawyers Association.
Tensions have rapidly escalated on the campus since the encampment began May 1, 2024, at the institution in Nanaimo, B.C. Slogans and symbols associated with listed terrorist entities such as Hamas have been found at the site, and some posters include calls for violence.
“The encampment at VIU is the last one remaining in B.C. and must be dispersed,” said Aron Csaplaros, British Columbia Regional Manager for B’nai Brith Canada. “Such hateful displays are an existential attack on campus communities.”
VIU said in a statement that it filed its lawsuit after demonstrators ignored a trespass notice issued July 11. The university noted a July 2 decision by an Ontario court to grant a similar request by the University of Toronto. The ruling in that case, in which B’nai Brith also intervened, empowered police to end the illegal encampment on the University’s campus.
“We hope a ruling from the court will enable a swift resolution to this deleterious saga,” said Richard Robertson, B’nai Brith Canada’s Director of Research and Advocacy. “We aim to help the court balance the quasi-constitutional human rights of those impacted by the encampment with the alleged constitutional rights of the encampment’s participants.”
