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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.
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.”
McGill University did not immediately return CBC’s request for comment.
