While some Canadian universities move to mandatory vaccines, Quebec health ministry says it's not necessary
As CEGEP and university students begin preparing for the semester ahead, some have expressed a desire for Quebec's schools to implement a COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
Last week, the province's health ministry announced that post-secondary students would not be required to wear masks or physically distance once classes start and vaccinations would not be mandatory to be present. However, some extracurricular activities could be off-limits for students who are not adequately vaccinated.
On Thursday, a spokesperson for Quebec's health ministry maintained that COVID-19 vaccines will, as previously announced, not be required for university and CEGEP students, saying that access to courses is an essential service.
However, they said the ministry could add “additional preventive measures... in educational institutions where vaccination rates are judged to be insufficient.”
Some universities have chosen to take extra steps; both McGill and Universite de Montreal have announced they will require students to wear masks at all times. Claire Downie, vice-president University Affairs at the Student Society of McGill University, however, praised the “fantastic policies” that can be found at some Canadian institutions, such as the University of Toronto and University of Ottawa, where being fully vaccinated is a requirement to come on campus.
``I know on a personal level myself and many of my team members we were saying we think these are fantastic policies we just didn't know how they would apply in a Quebec landscape and I do think McGill is a leader in Quebec universities and sort of all eyes on McGill right now, I think a lot of students would be thrilled right now to see a vaccination requirement put in place,” she said.
Caroline Berard, a student at the University of Ottawa, said she would have “definitely felt less safe” if the school hadn't issued a vaccine mandate.
“I wouldn't have felt comfortable going to classes and especially because I have to back to campus, I would have really felt unsafe, I wouldn't have felt like my university was protecting me and having my best interest at heart so I really feel appreciative that my university has taken the step. ``
A spokesperson for Concordia University said the school will continue following directives from the government and public health and would not make vaccines mandatory, saying the rate of vaccination among the student body is already very high.
“Currently, vaccinations are not mandatory for Quebec university faculty, staff and students, but the government strongly encourages everyone to get vaccinated – as do we. Over the past months, we have been actively promoting vaccines to our community.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Attempt to have murder charge quashed against alleged serial killer dismissed by judge
A motion filed by the man accused of killing four Indigenous women in Winnipeg to have one of those murder charges quashed has been dismissed by the judge – weeks before the start of his trial.
Government proposes new policy for federally regulated employees to disconnect from work
In their 2024 budget, the federal government wants to amend the Canada Labour Code, so employers in federally regulated sectors will eliminate work-related communication with employees outside of scheduled hours. If implemented, this would affect roughly 500,000 employees across the country.
Earthquake jolts southern Japan
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 hit southern Japan late on Wednesday, said the Japan Meteorological Agency, without issuing a tsunami warning.