The city of Montreal has been targeted by two class-action lawsuits over its handling of pro-Palestinian and homeless encampments last summer, with lawyers arguing dismantling the camps violated people’s rights.

More specifically, the requests argue the city ordering the camps dismantled was an intentional attack on people’s freedom of expression and of peaceful assembly.

The lawsuits seek thousands of dollars in damages for those who either took part in the encampments or were present when they were dismantled.

“With the dismantling of the camp, each member of the group saw his or her fundamental freedoms curtailed,” reads one of the requests.

The two class-action requests were filed by the same law firm in late December. They will need to be authorized by a judge before moving forward.

The pro-Palestinian encampment in question was erected in Victoria Square on June 22, near the Montreal offices of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.

Protesters set up camp in the park, erecting large tents, creating walkways with wooden pallets and hanging banners from trees. Among other demands, they called on the provincial pension fund to cut ties with Israeli institutions they accused of being complicit in the Israel-Hamas war.

The other encampment was established in Parc des Faubourgs on July 1 in protest of the city’s approach to dismantling homeless camps. Erected by a local advocacy group, it grew to include several unhoused people.

A dog sits outside a tent at a new encampment in Parc des Faubourgs, where people were protesting against the city’s approach of dismantling encampments of unhoused people, on July 4, 2024.

Both encampments were taking down by authorities on July 5.

In the case of the pro-Palestinian encampment, the lawsuit alleges the Montreal police department used “violent and excessive” force while dismantling the camp.

The suit says some 20 police officers in riot gear entered the camp around 5 a.m. without warning, trampling over tents and acting in “an intentionally intimidating manner.”

About 15 people remained in the camp at the time, the suit says. In addition to protesters’ rights being violated, the request also argues they were discriminated against over their political beliefs.

As for the encampment erected in support of unhoused people, the request says the city sent a “totally disproportionate police response” to end what amounted to a peaceful protest.

The morning of the dismantlement, it says, about 11 people were at the camp: two organizers, a local resident who had come to drop off food and eight unhoused people.

The suit says between 30 and 40 police officers issued warnings for people to leave before forming a wall and marching toward the camp. Protesters created a human chain in response, but city employees began dismantling the camp regardless.

“(The city) used its police force to dismantle an encampment housing several people experiencing homelessness,” the request states. “It thus exposed these vulnerable and marginalized people to the well-known dangers of eviction from an encampment.”

Both requests also speak to what happened in the aftermath of the camps being dismantled and the difficulties people experienced in trying to regain personal belongings collected by authorities.

It’s alleged tents, chairs and sleeping bags from the pro-Palestinian encampment were all damaged. A petition containing hundreds of signatures was also found ruined in a container with waste, the suit says.

At the camp set up in support of unhoused people, the request says more than $2,300 of materials and belongings were either damaged or discarded, and organizers faced a “frustrating administrative opacity” while trying to retrieve them.

The requests seek a combined $10,000 in damages per person for those who took part in the camps and $20,000 for those who were present when the dismantlements took place.

The lawyer behind both lawsuits declined to comment for this report, given that the cases are before the courts. The city of Montreal did not respond to a request for comment by deadline Tuesday.

When the pro-Palestinian encampment was taken down, Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante had said it posed “major safety risks” and contravened a municipal bylaw.