The hypocrisy of the University of Waterloo's "vaccination requirement"

Privacy for me but not for thee

Photo by Marija Zaric on Unsplash

The University of Waterloo’s (UW’s) “vaccination requirement” is an assault on not only autonomy and individual health, but also the right to privacy.

The reasoning behind the requirement has never been clearly explained. Despite repeated calls for dialogue and transparency, senior administrators refuse to answer basic questions.

After months of frustration, members of the UW community resorted to filing freedom of information requests to learn more, including about UW’s process for accommodations, of which there were very few.

For example, what specific criteria did UW use to evaluate applications for exemptions based on religion or creed? UW refuses to release this information, citing attorney/client privilege. The criteria are allegedly private information between UW’s administration and its attorneys:

What are the qualifications of the decision-makers who used the secret criteria to judge applications? UW refuses to release this information “due to employees’ personal privacy” and the potential “harm” they might suffer:

UW coerced students, staff and faculty into divulging their private medical information. UW continues to compile and use that private information contrary to its promise to destroy it. Yet when those same victims ask about the qualifications of the people denying their applications, UW rebuffs them on the grounds that it would violate privacy.

UW has caused massive harm to many individuals and the UW community, with no offsetting benefit, over the past eight months. Yet when the victims of that abuse ask for transparency, UW rejects them on the grounds that it will harm employees.

What UW lacks in accountability it more than makes up for in hypocrisy.