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COVID-19

College’s COVID vaccine mandate for remote professor was ‘not reasonable,’ arbitrator rules

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From LifeSiteNews

By Anthony Murdoch

Arbitrator Larry Steinberg determined that Fanshawe College erred in mandating that Professor Andrew Wing have the shots as a condition of work despite working from home.

An Ontario arbitrator ruled in favor of a vaccine-free professor who was put on unpaid leave for refusing to comply with his college’s COVID jab policy despite working from home, concluding that the college’s jab mandate was “not reasonable.”

Arbitrator Larry Steinberg, in a ruling released February 20, determined that Fanshawe College, an applied arts college in London, Ontario, erred in mandating that Professor Andrew Wing have the shots as a condition of work despite working from home.

“This case is not about whether the vaccination Policy of the College is reasonable. This case is more narrowly focused only on whether, based on the evidence before me, it was reasonable to apply the Policy to the grievor in the context of his working conditions at the time,” Steinberg wrote in his ruling.

“I find that requiring the grievor to comply with the vaccination Policy was not reasonable and the grievance is allowed. As requested by the parties the issue of the appropriate remedy is remitted to the parties.”

Wing holds a full-time position in the Technical Systems Analysis (TSS) program within the School of Information Technology. All of its classes are remote.

Fanshawe College, like most in Ontario, in November 2021 set mandatory COVID jab policies for staff and students to comply with a provincial government dictate, which was announced a few months earlier. Those that did not comply were fired or placed on unpaid leave.

Wing told the college that he was not going to get the COVID shots and wanted an exemption under Ontario’s Human Rights Code. He was subsequently placed on a three-month leave with no pay that started January 3, 2022.

Wing was not happy with being put on unpaid leave, and with the help of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union Local 110, filed a grievance.

The grievance read, “I grieve that Fanshawe has unreasonably applied its COVID-19 Vaccination policy and as a result has threatened an unreasonable disciplinary action under our Collective Agreement and/or any applicable statues, and in so doing, has violated Articles 4 and 31 of the Collective Agreement along with any other relevant articles and/or laws.”

Fanshawe College argued that the “policy that everyone who attended on campus had to be fully vaccinated never changed from its inception.”

The college’s human resources department had argued, as per the arbitrator’s ruling, that it was an “administrative burden for the employer to continue to have to check the vaccination status of employees who found it necessary to be on campuses,” and that, “In the grievor’s case this could include meeting with students, attending to technical matters and attending at meetings.”

Steinberg ruled that regarding the human resources department’s claim, “There was no evidence why the grievor could not continue to perform all of these functions remotely as had been since the inception of the program in 2020.”

“I reject this evidence as in any way justifying the requirement that the grievor be vaccinated on the basis of the College’s interest in carrying out its responsibilities,” he wrote.

As for Wing returning to work, in March 2022, he got an email from the college that because he was working remotely he could come back to remote work with pay.

Fanshawe College, like many universities and post-secondary institutions in the Ontario, had in place a COVID jab mandate policy for staff and students that targeted the vaccine-free.

Ontario’s government, under pro-mandate and pro-lockdown Premier Doug Ford, for a time mandated not only mask-wearing, but COVID shots for workers in healthcare and other government settings.

The mandates led to lawsuits against governments and universities and other businesses Canada-wide.

Many institutions along with governments in Canada rescinded vaccine mandates and vaccine passports last year, but not after causing much harm to the unjabbed.

LifeSiteNews has reported on many cases that Canadian arbitrators ruled in favor of the vaccine-free who lost work for not getting the shots.

When it comes to the shots themselves, there is a large body of data showing that COVID jab mandates and passports have been failed strategy for tackling COVID, not to mention the fact that the jabs have been linked to millions of injuries and thousands of deaths.

It is now understood that the COVID virus has a minimal risk of asymptomatic spread, and research indicates that natural immunity from infection of COVID is far superior to vaccine-induced immunity.

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COVID-19

Former Trudeau minister faces censure for ‘deliberately lying’ about Emergencies Act invocation

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From LifeSiteNews

By Christina Maas of Reclaim The Net

Trudeau’s former public safety minister, Marco Mendicino, finds himself at the center of controversy as the Canadian Parliament debates whether to formally censure him for ‘deliberately lying’ about the justification for invoking the Emergencies Act.

Trudeau’s former public safety minister, Marco Mendicino, finds himself at the center of controversy as the Canadian Parliament debates whether to formally censure him for “deliberately lying” about the justification for invoking the Emergencies Act and freezing the bank accounts of civil liberties supporters during the 2022 Freedom Convoy protests.

Conservative MP Glen Motz, a vocal critic, emphasized the importance of accountability, stating, “Parliament deserves to receive clear and definitive answers to questions. We must be entitled to the truth.”

The Emergencies Act, invoked on February 14, 2022, granted sweeping powers to law enforcement, enabling them to arrest demonstrators, conduct searches, and freeze the financial assets of those involved in or supported, the trucker-led protests. However, questions surrounding the legality of its invocation have lingered, with opposition parties and legal experts criticizing the move as excessive and unwarranted.

On Thursday, Mendicino faced calls for censure after Blacklock’s Reporter revealed formal accusations of contempt of Parliament against him. The former minister, who was removed from cabinet in 2023, stands accused of misleading both MPs and the public by falsely claiming that the decision to invoke the Emergencies Act was based on law enforcement advice. A final report on the matter contradicts his testimony, stating, “The Special Joint Committee was intentionally misled.”

Mendicino’s repeated assertions at the time, including statements like, “We invoked the Emergencies Act after we received advice from law enforcement,” have been flatly contradicted by all other evidence. Despite this, he has yet to publicly challenge the allegations.

The controversy deepened as documents and testimony revealed discrepancies in the government’s handling of the crisis. While Attorney General Arif Virani acknowledged the existence of a written legal opinion regarding the Act’s invocation, he cited solicitor-client privilege to justify its confidentiality. Opposition MPs, including New Democrat Matthew Green, questioned the lack of transparency. “So you are both the client and the solicitor?” Green asked, to which Virani responded, “I wear different hats.”

The invocation of the Act has since been ruled unconstitutional by a federal court, a decision the Trudeau government is appealing. Critics argue that the lack of transparency and apparent misuse of power set a dangerous precedent. The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms echoed these concerns, emphasizing that emergency powers must be exercised only under exceptional circumstances and with a clear legal basis.

Reprinted with permission from Reclaim The Net.

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COVID-19

Freedom Convoy leader Tamara Lich calls out Trudeau in EU Parliament address for shunning protesters

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From LifeSiteNews

By Anthony Murdoch

Speaking as an invited guest, Tamara Lich recounted how during the Freedom Convoy protests in 2022 calling for an end to COVID mandates that authorities treated the protesters like a ‘drug cartel.’

Tamara Lich, leader of Canada’s 2022 Freedom Convoy, was invited to speak before the European Parliament and wasted no time blasting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for “hiding” from protesters instead of engaging in dialogue as he did with other activist groups.

“We have politicians calling us terrorists, domestic terrorists, racists, even accusing us of trying to burn down an apartment building,” she said during her address.

“This is not the Canada I grew up in.”

Lich was a guest at the EU Parliament by the Europe of Sovereign Nations group, which is a right-of-center faction. She was joined alongside MEP Christine Anderson to speak to the parliament located in Strasbourg, France.

Lich recounted how during the Freedom Convoy protests, which took place in January and February 2022 in Ottawa calling for an end to COVID mandates, authorities treated the protesters like a “drug cartel.”

“Our prime minister ran away and hid and refused to even send anyone out to talk to us. … As a matter of fact, he even said that he’s attended protests before but only those that he supports,” she said.

“In my opinion, the leader of a country leads all of their people, not just the ones who believe in the same ideology. That is his job, and he failed us. They all failed us.”

Lich in a later social media post to X noted how it was a “privilege and an honour to speak to the Europe of Sovereign Nations Group this evening about the treatment of hard-working, blue-collar Canadians and the brave truckers who stood up for all of us.”

“I was able to speak about the current political climate in Canada, the censorship of our media, lawfare and political prisoners (our beloved Coutts boys) and the freezing of bank accounts without Parliamentary oversight or court order from a judge among many other concerning and important issues we are facing as Canadians under this current regime,” Lich said. “Thank you to Madam Christine Anderson and the ESN Group for this amazing opportunity. I will never forget it.”

Lich still faces up to 10 years in jail for protesting government COVID mandates

Lich and co-leader Chris Barber’s trial concluded in September, more than a year after it began. It was originally scheduled to last 16 days.

As reported by LifeSiteNews, Lich and Barber’s verdict will be announced on March 12.

Lich and Barber face a possible 10-year prison sentence. LifeSiteNews reported extensively on their trial.

During Lich’s speech, Lich noted how she was thankful for “support” Canadians showed to the Freedom Convoy “in the form of donations which were that we were going to receive.”

“We honestly thought we would just drive there, you know a small group of us,” she said. “But what we saw, as you guys obviously did too, on the sides of the roads and on the overpasses, was an overwhelming number of Canadians out there to support us who finally felt hope for the first time in years. Who finally felt proud to be Canadian for the first time in years.”

The $24 million raised by GoFundMe was frozen on the orders of the government.

“The first GoFundMe campaign that we started was taking in $1 million a day as we travelled across the country. (It) was frozen after the politicians contacted GoFundMe and told them that we were ‘domestic terrorists’ and that they were ‘fighting terrorism,’” Lich said.

She recounted how the problems facing Canada under the Trudeau government are not just an issue at home but around the world.

“This is what they are trying to do,” said Lich, adding, “I see it everywhere, it’s to demoralize and bankrupt you, but I’m here to tell you that they picked on the wrong woman, and we’ll keep fighting.”

In early 2022, thousands of Canadians from coast to coast came to Ottawa to demand an end to COVID mandates in all forms. Despite the peaceful nature of the protest, Trudeau’s government invoked the Emergencies Act on February 14. Trudeau revoked the EA on February 23.

The EA controversially allowed the government to freeze the bank accounts of protesters, conscript tow truck drivers, and arrest people for participating in assemblies the government deemed illegal.

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