Earlier this morning, 20 people carrying a Demilitarize McGill banner gathered in the first floor hallway of Macdonald Engineering. The protestors blocked access into the area but allowed people out. According to the group’s Twitter account, they were obstructing “military drone research” at the Aerospace Mechatronics Lab.
Security Services read them the following message: “This demonstration is obstructing university activities. You are welcome to demonstrate and express your opinions, but in doing so you cannot continue to obstruct. Therefore, I am informing you that you must stop obstructing university activities promptly and, if you do not, the police will be called.” The protestors did not stop their blockade.
The Dean of Students and a supervisor from Security talked to the students. The students were then told that the event would be brought to the attention of the appropriate disciplinary officers and that police would be called if they did not stop their obstruction. After the students refused to stop obstructing the corridor, Security implemented McGill protocol and called police. The police arrived on campus after 11 a.m. After being briefed, police removed their banner, approached the protestors and asked to talk to them. The protestors then left the area peacefully without any physical contact between them and the police.