Thomas Bryan, Flood Colleen M
Senior Research Associate and Adjunct Professor, Centre for Health Law, Policy and Ethics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON.
University Research Chair and Director, Centre for Health Law, Policy and Ethics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON.
Healthc Policy. 2020 Nov;16(2):14-20. doi: 10.12927/hcpol.2020.26357.
Ontario families are required to provide up-to-date vaccination records as children begin schooling. Exemptions are allowed on both medical and nonmedical (religious or philosophical) grounds. In a recent report, Toronto Public Health (2019) called for an end to nonmedical exemptions - a proposal some allege infringes the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms right to freedom of religion and conscience. This paper explores whether and to what extent vaccine refusal is protected under the Charter and argues that the elimination of nonmedical exemptions can be justified under Section 1 of the Charter. The issue of mandatory vaccination may take on special urgency in the coming months and years, if and when a vaccine is found for COVID-19.
安大略省的家庭在孩子开始上学时需要提供最新的疫苗接种记录。基于医学和非医学（宗教或哲学）理由均可获得豁免。在最近的一份报告中，多伦多公共卫生部门（2019年）呼吁终止非医学豁免——一些人声称这一提议侵犯了《加拿大权利和自由宪章》中宗教信仰和良心自由的权利。本文探讨了拒绝接种疫苗在《宪章》下是否以及在何种程度上受到保护，并认为根据《宪章》第1条，取消非医学豁免是合理的。如果在未来几个月或几年内找到针对新冠病毒的疫苗，强制接种疫苗的问题可能会变得尤为紧迫。
