After backlash, N.S. university to review controversial COVID-19 waiver to return to class
After a letter of protest signed by hundreds of students and staff was sent to administration, St. Francis Xavier University says it will review its plan to require its students to sign a COVID-19 waiver in order to return to class.
Last week, the Nova Scotian university sent a waiver to all its students, who upon signing would waive all claims for “loss, damage, illness, sickness, expense or injury including death … as a result of COVID-19 risks”.
The school plans to reopen for students in the fall semester, with the majority of classes offered in-person instead of online. The waiver includes any COVID-related risk encountered at St. Francis Xavier or while participating in school-related activity elsewhere.
In an email sent to students and staff on July 12, StFX president Andy Hakin said the waiver doesn’t absolve the university of having to follow public health standards and the school remains prepared to shut down if the situation worsens.
I've been holding my opinions on re-opening campus in Fall 2020 - mostly because I have mixed opinions myself.
Today, I am extremely disappointed in StFX University following the release of this document. pic.twitter.com/MICPPtoANR
— Tiffany MacLennan (@tiffmaclennan) July 10, 2020
“What the waiver does do, is affirm that there are risks for all involved — considerations that the university and students must acknowledge and accept in order for StFX to be able to invite students to campus in September,” Hakin explained.
Hakin said the university had been told by its insurers that insurance companies won’t cover pandemic-related claims by the end of this year and implementing a waiver allowed the school to have students back on campus, as well as in residences.
“The waiver is not the only condition for students to return to campus,” Hakin said. “The introduction of new, mandatory behavioural expectations and protocols related to COVID-19 represent another very important element of the university’s risk management plan for a safe return.”
No other university in Canada has announced plans to require its students to sign a similar waiver, and both the University of Toronto and the University of British Columbia directly confirmed to the National Post that they don’t intend to do so.
After the initial waiver was sent, more than 350 students, alumni, staff and locals sent a letter of protest to Hakin, calling for the waiver to be removed, citing a lack of consultation with students.
According to the Canadian Press, N.S. cabinet minister Labi Kousoulis has gotten involved after speaking to concerned students and said the wording of the waiver will be changed.
“At this point, the waiver that was circulated, I’m quite certain will not be the waiver the students will be expected to sign,” Kousoulis said.
In response to the letters, Hakin sent a statement on July 13, saying the university will ‘review’ the decision to implement the legal waiver.
As of July 17, there were 1,067 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Nova Scotia, including 63 deaths. About 1,002 have been resolved.