Brandon’s Assiniboine Community College is pursuing the adoption of a mandatory COVID vaccination policy for all students, staff, contractors and visitors to the campus.
In a news release, the college says “like many other post-secondary institutions in Manitoba, our college believes that requiring individuals to be vaccinated in order to be on campus could be one added layer of protection to complement other safety measures adopted throughout the pandemic. Assiniboine was the first institution in Manitoba to adopt a face mask mandate and is maintaining that mandate through the fall term.
Similar to the policies at many other colleges and universities across Canada that have adopted vaccine mandates, our college believes that the implementation must account for certain exemptions, including medical conditions, religious accommodations, or periodic testing as an alternative for unvaccinated individuals to gain access to campus. Given the implications, we believe that such a policy requires the approval of our Board of Governors. Further, it is imperative that the execution of any policy gives sufficient notice to students and staff to make arrangements, and that public health tools such as appropriate testing are available to ensure appropriate accommodation.
Every institution will have its own approach to the implementation of such policies. We felt it was important to give notice to students and staff in particular of our intention to pursue approval of such a policy with our Board of Governors.”
