Seneca College to Drop COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate on Dec. 31

A health care worker administers a vaccine dose to a student at a COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the University of Toronto campus in Mississauga, Ont., on May 6, 2021. The Canadian Press Press/Tijana Martin

Seneca College in Ontario says it’s dropping its mandatory COVID-19 vaccine requirement at the end of the year.

“Regretfully, but necessarily, I am announcing today that Seneca’s vaccination policy will end on Dec. 31, 2022,” President David Agnew wrote in a letter to all students and employees.

“That means students, employees, contractors and visitors will no longer be required to be vaccinated to enter Seneca’s campuses or buildings as of Jan. 1, 2023.”

Agnew said that as federal and provincial governments have dropped their mandates the university is “unable to independently and accurately verify vaccination status.”

“Governments at all levels have made it clear through their actions that the level of protection you have against COVID-19 has become a personal choice,” Agnew said in his letter, adding that the school’s mask mandate “will continue until further notice.”

Agnew said he was “proud” that Seneca was one of the first universities to require vaccination and that Seneca was “an example for the country because, eventually, we were supported by federal and provincial policies.”

Just over 200 km away from Seneca, Western University is upholding a controversial three-dose vaccine mandate. It was opposed by their staff union, who said it violated their collective agreement and the province’s human rights laws. Hundreds of students attended a protest against the vaccine mandate on Aug. 27.

Initially, their deadline for the third dose was October 2022, but it has now been pushed back to January 2023.