Mask and vaccine requirements to continue at Carleton, U of O

Ottawa's two largest universities willcontinuewith mandatory maskand vaccine ruleson campus until the end of the winter semester, in spite oftheprovince lifting those requirements.

Carleton University and the University of Ottawa, along with Queen's University, are matchingadecision announced late last week by the Council of Ontario Universities.

Vaccine and mask rules will remain in place until at least the end of the current term at its member universitiesto"minimize uncertainty and disruption," the council said in a statement.

At the University of Ottawa and Carleton University both members of the councilstudent unions agree with keeping mandatesin place.

Butat the University of Ottawa, the unionthinks the school's commitment could be stronger.

"We think that these practices should continue even after this term, as long as COVID remains a very real threat to the safety of our community," said Armaan Singh, an advocacy commissioner with that school's student union, in a Mondayinterview with CBC Radio's All In A Day.

Students who are immunocompromised themselves or live with people who are immunocompromised deserve protection, hesaid.

"We don't think anybody should have to choose between being able to go to class or having to protect a family member from COVID."

Most U of O courses this term are being offered online, the school says. Its goal for fall 2022is to have 80 to 90 per cent of courses be in-person.

For its part, the Carleton University Students' Association is glad mandatesare being kept in place for now, but a vice-president said itsstudents are generally looking forward to the return of some degree of normalcy.

"People are, of course, looking to see how the situation progresses once masks are lifted [elsewhere], but of course we have different opinions from students," saidValentina Vera Gonzlez, vice-president of student issues with the Carleton University Students' Association.

"Some students want the masks to be lifted, and some others don't feel safe now. So we're just looking to support all of our students."

The union will also support anystudents who decide to keep wearing masks ifthe university's mandate is dropped,she said.

SaintPaul University in Ottawa, which is not a member of the Council of Ontario Universities, has dropped its vaccination requirement but will continueto require masks on campus "until further notice," according to its website.