Two students are bringing Human Rights complaint against de-registration due to being unvaccinated.
Both students have religious objections to receiving the COVID vaccines due to the connection between the vaccines and aborted fetal cell lines as well as beliefs about the body being a temple of the Holy Spirit.
The students did not get vaccinated. Both students sought accommodation for their religious beliefs and requested an exemption from the University’s vaccine policy. The University deregistered them from their courses forcing both to take an extra year.
Both students have applications before the Human Rights Tribunal. Their applications have both been accepted and are awaiting hearing dates.
On August 30, 2021, Dr. Kieran Moore, Chief Medical Health Officer of Ontario, provided all post-secondary education institutions in the province with instructions requiring them to offer students three choices as part of their Covid-19 vaccine plans, any of which would facilitate their access to campus:
- Show proof of double vax; or,
- Show medical exemption which the University must approve; or,
- Offer a Covid-19 vaccine education session on the safety and benefits of the vaccine – if students choose this option they must frequently test.
Ontario Tech University opted out of offering option (c).
The Justice Centre represents Philip Anisimov, who attends Ontario Tech University in a four-year Mechanical Engineering Program…
“The University has tried to characterize Mr. Anisimov’s belief as a personal preference by arguing that vaccination is not truly contrary to his faith,” states Hatim Kheir, Justice Centre Staff Lawyer. “Decision-makers are not permitted to engage in speculation and theological debates about which dogma is correct. So long as a belief is religious in nature and sincerely held, it must be accommodated.”
Mr. Anisimov’s plans have been completely derailed by the University’s decision. “I should have been looking for work right now, but I can’t do that,” states Mr. Anisimov. In the face of the University’s decision to de-register him from his courses, Mr. Anisimov said he has started looking at Universities in the United States which will come at a greater cost. “Regardless of what path I take, I lose a lot of time and money,” he concludes.
Both students have sincere religious beliefs against receiving the COVID vaccines. The Human Rights Code guarantees a right to be free from discrimination on the basis of their religion and to be accommodated to the point of undue hardship. That right was violated by the University when it forced them to choose between violating their religious beliefs or delaying the start of their careers by one year.
“The University has tried to characterize these students’ beliefs as personal preferences by arguing that vaccination is not truly contrary to their faiths,” said lawyer Hatim Kheir. “Decision-makers are not permitted to engage in speculation and theological debates about which dogma is correct. So long as a belief is religious in nature and sincerely held, it must be accommodated.”