Two unvaccinated students argued the policy violates a number of their rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
A motion for an injunction against the school’s vaccine policy was issued in January 2022 by two unvaccinated Seneca students. They were represented by lawyers from the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms .Sign up to receive daily headline news from Ottawa Citizen, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.By clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.
This decision is especially important, said Howard Levitt, one of the lawyers representing Seneca College, as it shows, even now – two and a half years into the pandemic – that vaccine mandates are legal and institutions have a right to enforce them. In the decision, Superior Court Judge William D. Black found that Seneca College did not contradict the Ontario Chief Medical Officer of Health’s vaccination guidance.Article content
“While the is no longer mandating vaccination policies for post-secondary institutions,” wrote Black. “He continues to encourage mandatory vaccination policies.” When considering if the students’ Charter rights were violated, Black states that in his view “the application of the Charter to Seneca’s actions is somewhat uncertain.” Nonetheless, Black proceeded to assume it does apply and found that Seneca did not violate the two students’ rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.