Quebec City’s Laval University has opted to suspend an Immunology professor and mRNA scientist who’s skeptical of Covid jabs for kids, after he spoke with independent media during a prior suspension.
As reported by Le Journal De Quebec, Dr. Patrick Provost will be suspended without pay for the week of June 24 to July 3. This is the fourth time Provost has been suspended by Laval University.
The suspension is being denounced by the faculty union, citing Provost’s right to freedom of expression.
Speaking to Le Journal, Provost said the university is “still seeking to silence me, and it’s absolutely deplorable.” He claims the school’s management is “trying to make me wear the Laval University professor hat at all times, in every aspect of my life [which curtails] my freedom of expression.”
Laval University faculty union president Louis-Phillipe Lampron told Le Journal they are “vigorously contesting” the latest suspension, and warned that it could create “a dangerous precedent for academic freedom.”
“Regardless of what we think of colleague Provost’s stances, for us, the big problem is the sanctions imposed, and the reasons put forward to justify them,” explained Lampron.
The new sanctions against Provost come despite Laval University adopting policies in line with the Quebec Government’s academic freedom legislation passed last year to combat growing censorship in academia.
The university told Le Journal that it cannot directly comment on the situation due to confidentiality reasons, but claimed to be committed to free speech.
“Laval University subscribes to its members’ fundamental commitment to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly in a safe environment conducive to the free exchange of ideas for the advancement of understanding and knowledge,” said spokesperson Andree-Anne Stewart.
Stewart added that the university “aims to be a place where all voices can be heard, and where different points of view can be submitted and debated in a spirit of inclusion, respect and dignity.”
Provost was previously suspended twice for his opposition to giving children mRNA Covid shots. He also received a suspension for sending unauthorized mass emails.
