As we head into the 2022-23 academic year, Ontario's colleges and universities are making decisions on vaccine mandates for this year. Many have paused their mandates, but demand that students declare their vaccination status regardless. They also warn that the mandates can be reintroduced at any time, and non-compliant students will be "interrupted" academically. The University of Toronto has announced that students in residence must have three doses of the vaccine, and Western University's vaccine mandate remains in place.

Seeing as the Chief Medical Officer of Health has stated that healthy young adults are not at high risk of serious illness from COVID-19 and should make their own risk assessment considering the possibility of cardiac side effects from the mRNA vaccines, Ontario students should not be coerced or threatened with the loss of their academic year in an attempt to force them into being vaccinated.

We therefore call upon the Minister of Colleges and Universities to step in and instruct Ontario's post-secondary institutions to cease from mandating COVID-19 vaccines. If this is not done now, we run the risk of vaccination status becoming a permanent requirement for higher education.