The presence of protesters outside a Montreal school has prompted administrators to cancel classes, despite a court order calling for lessons to resume.
Demonstrators gathered outside College de Rosemont early Monday morning and blocked access to the building's entrance.
Several students who attempted to attend classes said they were refused entry to the school by protesters, who are affiliated with the anti-tuition hike movement that's gripped Quebec for the last three months.
The demonstration comes a week after several Rosemont students were granted an injunction to prevent protesters from interfering with classes at the CEGEP school.
Dozens of police officers and several security guards were spotted in and around the school as protesters tried to champion their cause on Monday.
Unconfirmed reports state police used pepper spray after a dust-up in a doorway. At one point, an ambulance arrived to treat an individual for an unknown injury.
Class cancellations were confirmed to CTV Montreal by the union representing the province's CEGEP teachers. It's unclear when lessons will resume.
Later in the morning, several hundred demonstrators blocked traffic on St. Michel Blvd. as they marched north along the street. The crowd stopped in a nearby parking lot.
Protesters also surrounded College Edouard Montpetit and the University of Sherbrooke campus in Longueuil, Que. Around 10:30 a.m. the protest at the university turned violent, and riot police dispersed the crowd with pepper spray.
Quebec's student demonstrators have been rallying against a proposed tuition hike of $1,625, which would be implemented over several years.
Students reached a fragile deal to resolve the dispute with Premier Jean Charest's government in early May. The proposed agreement involved a temporary freeze on tuition hikes and a committee to manage university funds.
But just when an end to the ongoing dispute appeared to be near, students rejected the offer in a vote last week and continued protesting.
Growing hostilities, mounting frustration
Recent demonstrations have seen a growing number of violent incidents. Some of the worst clashes resulted in tear gas being fired at students and a protester losing an eye.
Public frustration swelled when a string of smoke-bomb attacks shut down Montreal's subway system for several hours last Thursday.
Unverified reports have tied the attacks to a militant group of student protesters, but police have not confirmed these allegations.
Four suspects -- a man and three women – face charges of inciting fear of terrorism as well as conspiracy and mischief. The accused are scheduled to appear in court for a bail hearing on May 23.
Spokespeople for most student protest groups have condemned violent action.
However, one of the most outspoken voices in the anti-tuition hike movement has asserted that if protesters are growing more aggressive, it's due to government apathy.
"I think the fact that the conflict is now bigger than ever is a lot of the responsibility of the government because (Charest) ignored the movement for the first ten weeks," CLASSE spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois told CTV's Question Period on Sunday.
With files from CTV Montreal
