“It’s scandalous that nobody is taking responsibility in this matter,” Quebec Conservative leader says.
“It’s scandalous that nobody is taking responsibility in this matter,” the leader of the Conservative Party of Quebec said Tuesday.
He said he met with McGill’s senior director of government relations, Gabrielle Collu, on Monday to discuss the situation.
He noted protesters at the camp also recently refused Montreal fire department entry when they attempted to conduct a safety inspection.
Pro-Palestinian protesters have been occupying part of McGill’s downtown Montreal campus since April 27.
They vow to stay until the university divests from companies linked to what they describe as the genocide of Palestinians and severs relationships with Israeli universities.
Duhaime singled out Montreal’s mayor, Valérie Plante, and its police chief, Fady Dagher, as well as two provincial officials — Public Security Minister François Bonnardel and Higher Education Minister Pascale Déry.
“How is it that (Bonnardel) is incapable of ensuring public safety in Quebec?
“How can (Déry) allow the property of an institution under her responsibility to be held hostage by thugs?
“What is (Plante) doing in the face of this manifestation of hatred that tarnishes her city?
“Where is (Dagher) to enforce the law on his territory?”
Duhaime said the reputations of McGill, Montreal and Quebec “are tarnished by this affair, without any elected official giving the order to evacuate the illegals.”
After a pro-Palestinian camp was dismantled at Victoria Square last week, McGill president Deep Saini said he expected the city and police to also take down the camp on his campus.
But Plante said the city can’t intervene at McGill because it’s private property, unlike Victoria Square.
McGill says police refuse to intervene and negotiations with protesters have proved fruitless. Two Quebec judges have rejected requests to order protesters to clear out. Another court date is pending.