University of Ottawa Drops COVID Jab Mandate After Pressure from Canadian Rights Group
University of Ottawa drops COVID jab mandate after pressure from Canadian rights group
The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms had repeatedly called on the university to end its abusive and discriminatory practices.
OTTAWA (JCCF)— After repeatedly calling on the University of Ottawa (U of O) to end its abusive and discriminatory practices, the Justice Centre is pleased announce that the University has stated it will cancel its mandatory vaccine policy for students as of May 1, 2022.
The Justice Centre represented a pregnant student who was suspended from her university program after deciding against the COVID vaccine. Her doctor advised her that her pregnancy was at high-risk for reasons unrelated to COVID and recommended that she complete her mandatory internship virtually, which was allowed by the curriculum.
However, the University of Ottawa refused to accommodate her, falsely claiming that she was trying to circumvent the vaccination policy and that there were no places available for a virtual internship.
Throughout the process, U of O made little to no effort to find a mutually acceptable solution, the student alleges, and refused to justify its decisions in light of the facts of the case.
“It is clear that the University of Ottawa did not intend to follow the ‘reasonable accommodation’ basic criteria set out by the Supreme Court of Canada more than 15 years ago,” notes Samuel Bachand, senior external counsel for the Justice Centre in the province of Québec.