Police broke windows at the Université du Québec à Montréal and used chemical irritants to clear student protesters trying to spend the night in one of the university’s buildings.
More than 100 protesters were cleared from the building around 1:40 a.m. on April 9, leaving behind destroyed vending machines and trash. The clashes left five police vehicles damaged and 21 people facing charges, according to the National Post.
Campus Safety Magazine has previously reported that student protests in Quebec over issues such as budget cuts and fossil-fuel projects have led to many violent confrontations with police and dozens of arrests.
Just before midnight April 8 police gathered outside the building protesters had been occupying all evening and said they had no intention of breaking up the demonstration. But less than two hours later they were clearing people out of the building.
Four people are facing criminal charges of masked protest and mischief and 17 others face charges of illegal assembly and mischief.
