Québec Superior Court Rejects McGill Injunction to Limit Campus Protests

MONTREAL, Oct. 3, 2025 /CNW/ - The Québec Superior Court has rejected McGill University's request for an injunction that sought to restrict protests on campus. The injunction had faced strong opposition from five of McGill's labour unions, including the Association of Graduate Students Employed at McGill (AGSEM).

Limiting protest is limiting free speech

"The injunction McGill sought would not only have curtailed organizing against the genocide in Gaza, but it would also have threatened the fundamental rights of students and workers to protest and express themselves on campus," said Dallas Jokic, co-president of AGSEM.

Emma McKay, co-president of AGSEM, added: "If granted, this injunction would have given McGill management sweeping powers to shut down all forms of protest. A ruling in McGill's favour could have been weaponized against our ability to organize during bargaining, undermining our collective power at the negotiating table."

A Decisive Victory for McGill's Unions

In its ruling, the Court found that McGill failed to prove that "serious and irreparable harm" would be prevented by granting the injunction. Judge Ferland emphasized that "an interlocutory injunction is an exceptional form of relief that may severely restrain individual liberty and lead to draconian consequences," concluding that "the granting of the requested injunction is not warranted by the evidence."

For Saleha Hedaraly, vice-president of the Fédération Nationale des Enseignantes et Enseignants du Québec (FNEEQ-CSN), this represents a decisive victory for free expression: "After relentless attacks on free speech from management boards and interest groups across Québec, it is reassuring to see the courts refuse to follow this trend. This decision proves that resistance against these attacks is essential, and often the only way to defend our rights."

"At the Conseil central du Montréal Métropolitain (CCMM-CSN), we know that workers' ability to express themselves, organize, and disrupt is their most powerful tool," said Bertrand Guibord, president of CCMM-CSN. "McGill's claim of 'preserving campus safety' was clearly a pretext to weaken union and student activity by limiting visibility. We are proud that AGSEM and our allied unions stood firm and ensured this injunction was denied."

SOURCE CSN - Confédération des syndicats nationaux

For more information: Idriss Amraoui, communications advisor (CSN), 438-871-2263 - [email protected]