College’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate is legal and enforceable, Ontario court rules

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In a precedent-setting decision, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice has upheld Seneca College’s vaccine mandate for the current school year.

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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 (JCCF).

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The students argued that the vaccine policy contradicts instructions issued by Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health and that it violates a number of their rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

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.

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“While the (Chief Medical Officer of Health) 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.

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Black also discusses the controversy surrounding Byram Bridle, the medical expert that the two students’ argument relies on.

Bridle, who is an associate professor of viral immunology in the Department of Pathobiology at the University of Guelph, garnered attention for saying the COVID-19 vaccine is unsafe. In response to his claims, over 80 of his colleagues at the University of Guelph signed a letter distancing themselves from his views.

Black writes that he approaches Bridle’s “views with caution” and considers them against the opinions of Seneca College’s medical experts.

Currently, Seneca College requires all students who access the campus to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19. They do not offer a testing option for those who are unvaccinated. The school does consider requests for exemptions on medical or religious grounds.

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During the 2021 school year, the two students had to take leaves of absence as they could not comply with the vaccine mandate. In June 2022, it was announced that the policy would remain in place for the current school year.

Seneca College maintains that the vaccine policy is necessary to protect the health and safety of students and faculty on Seneca’s campuses.

It is important to remember that Seneca is not just a school, said Levitt. It is also a workplace for thousands of employees and faculty members. 

“This decision entirely demolishes and annihilates all arguments that employers do not have the right to require people to be vaccinated at a workplace.”