Two University of Toronto professors have warned the University that a Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario Group application has been filed over the school’s vaccine mandate.
In a press release, written by U of T professors Jeff Graham and Robert Holmstedt, as well as staff members Julie Quenneville and Sean Moore, the group states that in the wake of Ontario dropping its vaccine mandate, the University no longer has the right to discriminate against staff and students or withhold pay from those still on leave.
“The University of Toronto is going against public health recommendations even though they relied on them to enforce overly restrictive mandates on students, staff, and faculty. Why is the University stubbornly resisting the evolving science when they relied on it to legally justify their overreaching vaccination requirements. The University’s approach violates the human rights of members of the University of Toronto community and must be immediately removed,” the press release reads.
“While we await the decision of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, we request that the University immediately comply with the Province’s decision and prevent the continuation of the damages and suffering facing so many members of the community. The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario has acknowledged receipt of the claims submitted.”
Indeed, while the vaccine passport was ended in Ontario on March 1, the University intends to keep its own until the end of the term. Moreover, unlike other universities, U of T gave no guarantee that the vaccine mandate won’t still be in place in September when most students return.
In a letter sent to faculty, lawyer Courtney Betty, who is representing the group, states that the U of T must return to a “pre-COVID status quo” before laying out the case against keeping vaccine mandates. He further requests that it “revoke[s] all suspensions and terminations of employment related to U of T’s vaccination mandate….”
“Across the myriad of persons at U of T, some of them have been vaccinated, and some are not. Some have received one shot and are regarded as partially vaccinated. 6. Some had reactions and adverse effects to the first vaccination. Some are suffering heart defects from the first vaccination. 7. Among all, they share one thing in common: U of T had failed outright to accommodate them or even to advise them in a proper and informed way of their rights to accommodation,” Betty writes.
The letter is quite thorough and includes a large portion dedicated to data showing that vaccine passports are no longer justifiable — if they ever were. Moreover, as the precedent set by the province has swung in the opposite direction, the Human Rights case likely has a better chance of succeeding than those filed in 2020 or 2021.
