Western University in London, Ont., has revoked its mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy as of Nov. 29.
“Based on the latest consultation with our medical experts and local public health, we are revoking our vaccination policy and will no longer require students, employees, and visitors to be vaccinated to come to campus,” Western said in a release on Nov. 29.
Western said also that it would continue to recommend vaccination as “the best defence against severe illness and hospitalization.”
The university will continue to require masks to be worn in instructional spaces, including after the December break.
In September, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled against five university students who challenged the mandatory vaccine booster policy.
The students, represented by lawyers Lisa Bildy and Mark Joseph, asked the court for an injunction to stop the university from requiring proof of a COVID-19 booster to be on campus. Bildy has filed an appeal on behalf of the students.
Justice Kelly Tranquill said she rejected the student’s “characterization of the policy as being ‘coercive’ in nature,” and ruled, “Western is expressly permitted to govern its affairs.”
Last fall, Western terminated one of its professors, Dr. Julie Ponesse, for refusing to comply with the university’s vaccine mandate for staff implemented in September 2021. After her dismissal, Ponesse became the Ethics Scholar at a civil liberties charity, The Democracy Fund (TDF), which filed appeal documents on Nov. 21 on behalf of Ponesse, challenging the vaccination policy.
