McGill University to require vaccine passport for libraries, but many still want it to be mandatory for classes
McGill University has announced that it will soon require proof of vaccination for access to its libraries, but some faculty members who have been calling for a more widespread vaccine mandate say the new policy falls short of protecting people on campus.
In a memo shared with the university community on Friday, the university’s deputy provost of student life and learning, Fabrice Labeau, announced that the new policy will take effect mid-October.
By that time, students, faculty members, instructors, researchers, as well as administrative and support staff, will have to show their vaccine passport to gain access to the entire library system.
Library staff and employees “providing services in the library” are exempt from the new policy, the memo stated.
“The logic of it makes no sense. If you're going to do it in a library, why are you not doing it in a classroom?” said Richard Gold, a McGill law professor and director of the Centre for Intellectual Property, in an interview Friday.
Gold, who has been openly critical of McGill’s COVID-19 protocols, said he welcomes the shift in requiring the vaccine passport in more public spaces, but said the policy should cover the entire university community.
In the memo, Labeau said the university “intends to apply the passport to the fullest extent possible under law to provide strong incentives for members of the McGill community to get vaccinated.”
“While the library was not part of the original list of places and activities requiring a vaccine passport at McGill, we have determined that it is possible to apply it, as long as students, faculty and staff can get access to materials needed for study or work through other means.”
Some on social media are also questioning McGill's announcement.
The university said it has plans to accommodate people who do not have proof of vaccination.
Outside of McGill, the vaccine passport is, in fact, not required for access to libraries in Quebec, according to the Government of Quebec's website.
Gold, also an associate member in McGill’s Department of Human Genetics, said he welcomes any additional protection, but said the new library policy is “insufficient” and renewed calls for a revamp of the university’s current policy on COVID-19.
“It's a policy that is dangerous and is out of tune with the desires of the community. All the public health experts, including McGill's great McGill School of Population and Global Health, has been telling the administration since August that they need to do better,” including adopting Quebec’s existing COVID-19 vaccine passport.
Calls have been growing for weeks for the university to require proof of vaccination on campus with the threat of the highly-transmissible Delta variant spreading in the middle of the pandemic’s fourth wave.
On Sept. 1, members of the Students' Society of McGill University held a protest outside the university to demand the vaccine passport requirement. The passport is required for campus pubs and some voluntary activities, such as conferences, but it is not mandatory for campus residences or to attend class.
A McGill spokesperson said the university was made aware of three cases of COVID-19 in a research lab in the McIntyre Building and that an investigation is ongoing to determine where it may have been transmitted to others.
While people on social media have claimed there are also cases relating to university members in the Faculty of Law, spokesperson Cynthia Lee said the Case Management Group “has received no reports of a group of people with symptoms or who have tested positive in the Faculty of Law at this time.”
The McGill COVID-19 case tracker noted there has been an increase in cases overall on campus. There have been 18 cases reported on campus from Sept. 5 to 11, up from six cases from the week before.
“McGill University continues to work closely with public health officials to adopt policies and put into practice measures to protect students, staff and faculty. With the return to campus for the fall semester, vaccinations are a critical part of that strategy,” read part of McGill’s statement to CTV News.
Lee added that McGill hosted a vaccination clinic on campus on Sept. 3 to encourage more people to get their shots and that more than 85 per cent of the McGill community is fully vaccinated, according to figures from Ministère de la Santé et des Services Sociaux and the Ministère de l'Enseignement supérieur.
“These figures include all Quebec students," she said, "as well as the out-of-province students who were vaccinated in Quebec."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States, injuring at least three people.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.