The University of Waterloo's "vaccination requirement" violates its own compulsory policy on health and safety
This makes the requirement illegitimate.
The University of Waterloo (UW) lied when it said its "vaccination requirement" was legally required. It might be argued UW was still legally permitted to impose the requirement. But even if that were true, the requirement is illegitimate because it violates UW's Policy 34: Health, Safety and Environment. UW Policies (with a capital "P") are compulsory rules for the entire UW community.
UW cast its "vaccination requirement" as a way of "strengthening our safety" against covid-19. But Policy 34 recognizes the individual's primary responsibility for their own safety, behavior, and effects on others:
By ordering its members to undergo medical treatment to "strengthen our safety," UW stripped individuals of responsibilities that are theirs by policy.
UW's goal in imposing the requirement was to "protect public health":
But Policy 34 places the highest value on the health and safety of individuals:
This is the first principle listed in Policy 34 and the only one described as being "of the utmost concern." By contrast, Policy 34 doesn’t even mention "public health."
Further disrespecting the primacy of individual health, safety, and responsibility established by Policy 34, UW declared in advance that accommodations for "unvaccinated individuals" would be "rare":
UW made this decision before individuals could consult their own physicians on whether the mandated medical procedure promoted their individual health and safety, and before individuals could reflect on their conscience or creed or discuss the matter with their faith leaders or scientific colleagues. By neglecting individual health and prioritizing public health, UW's requirement not only violates but corrupts Policy 34.
UW has belatedly tried to justify its requirement by pointing out that Policy 34 also says this:
But a precaution is not reasonable if it violates the explicitly stated guiding principles of the same policy.
By UW’s Policy 34, individuals are responsible for their own medical and moral decision-making, and individual health and safety is the fundamental concern in university operations. UW's "vaccination requirement" violates those principles and is therefore illegitimate.