Pro-Palestinian demonstrators at the University of Guelph say they will continue to defy orders to tear down their tents after the local fire department ordered the school to remove parts of the encampment for fire safety reasons.
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Guelph’s fire department told CHCH News they issued the order to clear the walkway currently blocked by the encampment beside the university building.
The deadline for compliance was May 31, but more extensions have been given out to get the area cleared out or the school would face a $20,000 fine each day. On Tuesday, the protestors called out the administration but compromised on the fire order.
Despite calls to relocate their encampment over fire safety, pro-Palestinian supporters at the University of Guelph made a concession and realigned their barriers.
Encampment representatives, who did not give their full names due to personal and safety reasons, called out university officials about creating access to one of its buildings, Zavitz Hall which is now closed.
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Protesting student Waida said, “We had this conversation with the fire marshal themselves so that was their recommendation. The university actually told us to move the entire encampment in by ten feet, which is inaccurate, the fire marshal said that as long as the pathway is accessible, that is the only area that is necessary to clear.”
University officials say they were issued fire safety orders from the local fire department about the encampment being to close to Zavitz Hall. They also say for every day it remains there, they face a $20,000 fine.
The University of Guelph issued an update saying in part, “Guelph Fire Services agreed late yesterday to provide an extension to the deadline to comply. The university has not received any fines to date.”
Now that a pathway was created, the Guelph Fire Department tells CHCH News they issued the order to comply with fire orders on May 31, and “upon re-inspection, if the property owner is found not to be compliant with the Ontario Fire Code, we may consider prosecution, which could ultimately result in a court issuing fines to the property owner of up to $20,000 per day…”
CHCH News asked the university about student demands, which include scrapping investments they claim fund military operations in Israel.
Another protesting student, Firoza said, “Yesterday, we presented a set of action items under each demand that are achievable for the university. Which is that divest from the genocide, commit to the divestment of the genocide within one year.”
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School administration says they continue to meet with students and say they intend to disclose their investment portfolio.
Jake Levy from Hillel Ontario said, “There’s no need for new policies, or exceptions or anything. The university has policies in place that blatantly say what these students at the encampment are doing is not allowed and it’s time for the university to enforce these policies to ensure this can come to an end.”
The school did not say how long their extension to become fire safety compliant is, but the protestors claim the school has two weeks to do so.