A L'Universite Laval student has won an injunction preventing student protesters from interfering with one of his classes.
Laurent Proulx argued before a Superior Court Judge in Quebec City on Monday for an injunction to stop demonstrations which have not let him attend his anthropology class.
He said his summer job and his application for law school would be threatened if protests did not come to an end, or if the semester was extended.
On Tuesday morning the judge agreed, slapping a temporary injunction on student protesters.
"The judgment here is clear. Other students that are damaged in their fundamental rights can take this judgment and defend themselves, by themselves, in front of the court and explain to the judge that they need a decision so they can get what they paid for," said Proulx.
However the injunction is limited to certain parts of campus and will only last for ten days.
Student groups at the university had opposed Proulx's legal battle, saying the ongoing student protests were a political issue that should be dealt with by the government, not the courts.
"For the movement in itself, I don't think it's going to slow it down," said Martin Bonneau of CADEUL, the confederation of student associations at l'Universite Laval. "I don't think it's going to send a bad message. Students are still very motivated in portesting against the government and this is going to keep going."
Other legal battles
In recent weeks other students have sought legal redress to stop protesters from disrupting classes with mixed results.
A student at College d'Alma convinced a judge that there was improper conduct in a vote to boycott classes. That judge ordered the vote to be redone.
However that did not end student protests, and Tuesday morning, when students were supposed to return to class or be penalized, many chose to walk out and continue their protest.
In the morning the Surete du Quebec evacuated the school because of a bomb threat.
Last week Universite de Montreal law student Guillaume Charette sought an injunction to stop protests at his university, and was opposed by lawyers representing six student bodies.
His request was denied.
More protests scheduled
On Wednesday a large protest is expected to take place in Sherbrooke.
The University and Cegep student organizations FEUQ and FECQ expect 3,000 peple to board buses from Montreal to Premier Jean Charest's home riding.
The protest will begin at 1 p.m at the University of Sherbrooke, while a smaller demonstration will begin at the same time at Place Emilie Gamelin in Montreal.
