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The Superior Court of Quebec has authorized a class-action lawsuit against McGill University for allegedly failing to take reasonable action to protect Jewish students from discrimination following the events of Oct. 7., 2023.
The lawsuit is led by McGill undergraduate student David Cobrin on behalf of a group of Jewish students enrolled at the university. Cobrin is being represented by Fishman Flanz Meland Paquin LLP.
In a 16-page judgment, Judge Dominique Poulin called the situation at McGill following Oct. 7, 2023 “exceptional and complex.”
She wrote that Cobrin’s allegations, especially those about prevailing antisemitic and anti-Zionist speech on campus raise “sufficient concern to demonstrate that the cause of action stands a chance at trial and deserves to be heard.”
The class action includes all Jewish students registered at McGill University, including undergraduate, masters, continuing education, doctoral and post-doctoral students, between Oct. 8, 2023, and the date of the official public notice to class members of the judgment.
WATCH | What the lawsuit alleges:
Quebec court OKs class action alleging McGill failed to protect Jewish students
The lawsuit alleges Jewish students were the victims of antisemitic and anti-Zionist activities and speeches, harassment as well as intimidation and assault during a series of pro-Palestinian protests on the university’s campus after the events of Oct. 7, 2023.
The lawsuit alleges that class members suffered damages during a series of protests which took place on McGill’s campus after the events of Oct. 7, 2023, in connection with “the international conflict between Israel and Palestine.”
It claims Jewish students were the victims of antisemitic and anti-Zionist activities and speeches, harassment as well as intimidation and assault.
In a news release published on Wednesday, Paola Samuel, B’nai Brith Canada’s regional director for Quebec and Atlantic Canada, said the decision will “ensure McGill’s Jewish students have the opportunity to be heard in court.”
In a statement to CBC News, McGill University says it has taken “numerous concrete steps to help ensure that antisemitism is well-understood, effectively prevented and appropriately addressed across our campuses.”
The statement says every campus community member deserves to work and learn in a respectful, inclusive and supportive environment.
“Likewise, we all share a responsibility to foster a climate that rejects hate, intolerance and harassment,” the statement says, saying such behaviour undermines the school’s academic mission.
“Acts of harassment or discrimination, including antisemitism, have no place at McGill or in society.”