TORONTO (LifeSiteNews) – Last week Western University in London, Ontario, announced it will require all staff and students to receive COVID boosters in order to work or study on campus.
The announcement coming out of Western has sparked significant backlash, with the school experiencing sizable protests over the weekend.
Hundreds of demonstrators marched around the campus over the weekend, as speakers denounced the policy that was implemented just after fall tuition was due, making Western University the only school in Canada where boosters are mandated for all staff and students.
One of the speakers was Dr. Julie Ponesse, who was fired last year for refusing to take an experimental COVID jab and speaking out against medical-coercion.
TDF’s Ethics Scholar and former Western professor of ethics and philosophy, @DrJuliePonesse, speaks at @WesternU rally opposing their 3-shot booster mandate.
“The irony is that I was fired for doing exactly what I was hired to do”pic.twitter.com/pXnnvOpNQV
— The Democracy Fund (@TDF_Can) August 29, 2022
Ponesse also tweeted encouragement for Western students who are standing up against the mandates, saying: “You will win. Stay strong, stay the course.”
.@WesternU students, you are winning. You will win. 👊
Stay strong, stay the course.https://t.co/00XtRkvDA7@students4agency #EnoughIsEnough @S_A_M_CDN @westernuSE
— Dr. Julie Ponesse (@DrJuliePonesse) August 29, 2022
Canadian civil liberties group The Democracy Fund sent a letter to Western University urging the school to rescind its recent mandates, as it is their legal opinion that the mandate is “legally problematic, morally improper, and medically unnecessary.”
The Democracy Fund has sent a letter to Western University disapproving the university’s recently announced booster mandate for students and staff.
Read more: https://t.co/Cf1P1f4ex3 #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/sxr4C2mtkC
— True North (@TrueNorthCentre) August 27, 2022
In the wake of Western’s push for boosters, Scott Clark, a spokesman for the Ontario Ministry of Colleges and Universities, said in a statement Thursday that “post-secondary schools” should follow “the advice of the chief medical officer of health.”
The requirement seems in contradiction to what Kieran Moore, the Chief Medical Officer of Health for Ontario recommended for university-aged students.
In July, as Ontario expanded access to the experimental boosters for all those over 18 years old, Moore told reporters in a press conference that risks of myocarditis for “healthy” 18-year-olds are real and should be considered.
Listen to CMOH, Dr. Moore!
If you’re young & healthy then balance the risk of hospitalization versus the risk of side effects such as myocardisis!
Really? Since when? This is what we’ve been saying all along. So many lives ruined! Shame on many of you. #cdnpoli #onpoli #cpcldr pic.twitter.com/XWb3WCb6o3
— Roman Baber (@Roman_Baber) July 13, 2022
He contrasted the “very, very low” severe illness risk with the risk of severe jab reactions that have been experienced by teenaged residents of Ontario who have taken the jabs.
Dr. Zain Chagla, an infectious diseases physician and associate professor at McMaster University, wrote an article for The National Post wherein he discussed risks of myocarditis and called the measures “concerning” as “the rate of hospitalization of unvaccinated 18-29 year olds is still less than fully vaccinated and boosted 50-59 year olds.”