University of Waterloo Terminates 49 Staff Over Mandatory Vaccination Policy

A University of Waterloo pylon sign is seen at the main campus entrance in Waterloo, Ontario, on Oct. 17, 2020. Shutterstock

Ontario’s University of Waterloo has terminated 49 staff members over the school’s mandatory COVID-19 vaccine requirement.

The majority of these staff members are non-faculty members, a spokesperson from the school told CTV News.

“We have an obligation under the Health and Safety Act to protect our employees, and the employees have the obligation to comply,” said Nick Manning, associate vice-president of communications for the university.

“All of those who weren’t able to be compliant after progressive measures faced the ultimate result of termination.”

The terminations come a month ahead of the university’s plan to lift its proof of vaccination requirement, which has been imposed on staff, students, and visitors since the start of the Fall 2021 term.

“In light of the recent relaxation of public health restrictions as part of the Ontario government’s Roadmap to Reopen and on the basis of current local public health conditions, we will suspend our mask and proof of vaccination requirements for entry to campus, effective May 1,” the university said in a news release on March 22.

These requirements may be reinstalled if the epidemiological situation changes, the statement noted, and in order to “minimize disruption to work and learning” the university will therefore maintain a requirement “for all members of our community to provide information on their up to date vaccination status.”

While the university told CTV that it has exempted 170 students and employees from having to provide proof of vaccination on medical and religious grounds, it didn’t say whether that list included the terminated staff members.

The Epoch Times reached out to the University of Waterloo for confirmation but didn’t immediately hear back.