The University of Waterloo broke its promise to end its "vaccination requirement"
Now it might be breaking the law.
When the University of Waterloo (UW) imposed its "vaccination requirement" in late summer 2021, it committed to "destroy[ing]" people's private information collected for the policy "when mandatory vaccines are no longer determined to be necessary for public health purposes.”
UW's description of how it would handle personal information collected for the requirement was closely informed by applicable Ontario law, especially the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA):
FIPPA states,
An institution shall not use personal information in its custody or under its control except ... for the purpose for which it was obtained or compiled or for a consistent purpose. R.S.O. 1990, c. F.31, s. 41(1)
Ontario public health officials never determined "mandatory vaccines" to be "necessary,” despite UW's repeated lies to the contrary. But UW couldn’t maintain those lies after 17 February 2021, when Ontario's chief public health official stated publicly that vaccination policies, let alone mandates, were "no longer necessary" and "should" be removed by 1 March 2022.
UW has since been repeatedly informed by public health officials that vaccination policies are “no longer necessary.”
So UW is breaking its commitment to destroy information collected for a program that is no longer necessary.
This is important for two reasons. First, UW's behavior is an unethical breach of trust. Second, it seemingly violates provincial privacy law, specifically FIPPA, by retaining and using personal information beyond the purpose for which it was obtained.
It might be argued that UW retaining the information after mandates are no longer necessary is "consistent" with doing so only so long as mandates are necessary. But acting in direct contradiction to a plan cannot be consistent with the plan.
Or it might be argued that UW determines when mandatory vaccines are no longer necessary for public health. But such determinations are made by duly appointed public health authorities, which UW is not. UW (falsely) claimed to be taking instructions from such authorities that mandates were necessary, so it is those same authorities who determine when they’re unnecessary. UW itself acknowledges this on its covid-19 "Notice of Information Collection" webpage:
UW is no more qualified to determine when mandatory vaccines are necessary for public health than it is empowered to declare a pandemic over. For better or worse, those tasks fall to public health officials.
When will UW meets its obligations to destroy all information collected for its ineffective “vaccination requirement”?
Is this a lawsuit waiting to happen?