Former student takes university to court after vaccine policy delays graduation by a year

--Photo courtesy of Philip Anisimov

TORONTO, ON: The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms announces that the Ontario Divisional Court will hear Philip Anisimov’s application for judicial review on Monday, October 5, 2026. Mr. Anisimov is challenging a Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario decision that dismissed his complaint against the University of Ontario Institute of Technology over its refusal to exempt him from its Covid vaccine policy on religious grounds.

Exclusive: Watch constitutional lawyer Hatim Kheir’s case summary

Mr. Anisimov argues that the Tribunal applied the wrong legal test to his religious beliefs and made errors in assessing the evidence about possible accommodation. He is asking the Divisional Court to set aside both the original decision and the reconsideration decision, find that the university discriminated against him on the basis of creed, and return the matter to the Tribunal to determine damages. The Court has not yet ruled on those arguments.

Constitutional lawyer Hatim Kheir said, “The Tribunal accepted that Mr. Anisimov’s beliefs were sincere, but found they were not protected under the Human Rights Code. We’re asking the Court to review whether the Tribunal applied the right legal test and properly assessed the university’s ability to accommodate him.”

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