The Democracy Fund (TDF) announced on behalf of several Western University students it will appeal the decision of an Ontario Superior Court judge, which denied their claim the school’s collection of COVID-19 vaccine information violated privacy laws. ."The applicable section of FIPPA (Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act) exists to remedy the erosion of individual privacy at the hands of institutions eager to collect personal information,” said TDF lawyer Mark Joseph in a Friday press release. .“It should not be the case that an institution can get around specific prohibitions against collecting private information by simply drafting a policy authorizing it and then calling that policy its 'activity.’”.The challenge of Western’s COVID-19 booster mandate by five students was dismissed by Ontario Superior Court Justice Kelly Tranquilli on September 23. .READ MORE: Judge dismisses students' challenge of Western University's vaccine mandate.The written decision said Western was within its power to enact the booster policy. .It said the decision to collect personal health data from students and staff is necessary for it to be administered. .The release said TDF will file an appeal in conjunction with Libertas Law lawyer Lisa Bildy and Rights Probe executive director Bruce Pardy, asking the Ontario Court of Appeal to overturn the lower court’s decision. .FIPPA creates a prohibition against the collection of personal medical information by Western, except if one of three statutory exceptions applies. The parties agreed the one relevant exception is the information is necessary to carry out the university's lawfully authorized activities, as the Ontario government has revoked orders for vaccine mandates under the Reopening Ontario Act..The students' legal team had argued an institution's lawfully authorized activities are the services or programs for which it is meant to provide to the community, which would be post-secondary education and other incidental activities for Western. Their lawyers said institutions might be empowered to create policies to manage their affairs and further their objectives, but they are not their lawfully authorized activities under FIPPA..The Ontario Superior Court of Justice said the policy about collecting vaccine status was a lawfully authorized activity for Western, as the university has broad powers under the UWO Act. .TDF said it looks forward to having this matter clarified by the Ontario Court of Appeal in due course. ."Specific legislation always takes precedence over a general grant of powers,” said Joseph. .Western announced in August it will require students and staff to have taken a COVID-19 booster shot to come to campus, and they will have to be masked in classrooms and seminar rooms. .READ MORE: Ontario university enacts COVID-19 booster mandate, reinstates mask requirement.“While we can’t predict when the next wave of COVID-19 might come, we believe these measures will help us protect the in-person experience that Western is known for,” said Western provost and vice president, academic Florentine Strzelczyk. .“We want to do everything we can to offer our students a great on-campus experience throughout the academic year.”
