After being the subject of repeated complaints for his controversial comments on messenger RNA vaccines against COVID-19, Professor Patrick Provost was fired on March 28 by Laval University. A decision that he intends to contest, in the hope of being reinstated within the establishment.
“With the relentlessness I have been subjected to with Laval University for 26 months, I was surprised, but I expected it,” says the former professor in the microbiology department in an interview about his dismissal. -infectiology and immunology of the institution. “But I never believed they would go that far,” agrees Mr. Provost, who learned of his dismissal through a letter signed by the vice-rector of human resources and finances, André Darveau.
“At present, Patrick Provost is no longer employed by Laval University,” the establishment’s spokesperson, Andrée-Anne Stewart, confirmed in writing. However, the university was unable to detail the reasons for this dismissal due to the confidentiality rules governing this type of file.
Repeated complaints
In recent years, complaints from colleagues and citizens have accumulated against Patrick Provost due to his questioning, in the media and in his academic efforts, of the security and effectiveness of messenger RNA vaccines against COVID-19.
In the process, the professor was first suspended for eight weeks in June 2022, then for four months from January 23, 2023, each time without pay. The professor has since received other complaints for having shared certain writings on messenger RNA vaccines against COVID-19, Mr. Provost told Duty.
This would have constituted “the culminating incident” leading to his dismissal, says the professor, who filed a grievance on April 12 with the support of the Union of Professors of Laval University (SPUL) in order to denounce his dismissal and to claim financial compensation. In this document, of which The duty obtained a copy, the professor does not hesitate to describe the decision of Laval University to sever his employment relationship with her as “illegal” and “abusive”.
Despite a grievance under review
This dismissal also occurs at a time when an arbitrator is still considering the grievance filed by Mr. Provost in opposition to his first suspension, almost two years ago. A decision on this subject should be made by the end of the year, says the professor.
“And despite all that, the university decided to go so far as to dismiss me, even though the reasons on which it based its dismissal ended up before an arbitrator,” laments Mr. Provost. He hopes to be reinstated at Laval University if he wins his grievances against the management of the establishment. “I want to regain my position as professor, which was unjustifiably taken away from me,” the man continues. He also claims to be leading this fight in the name of “the academic freedom of all professors in Quebec”.
Contacted by The duty, the SPUL confirmed its support for Mr. Provost in his efforts to contest his dismissal. “The principle of academic freedom is a fundamental principle for our union”, a principle which is defined in the collective agreement for professors at Laval University, mentions the president of the SPUL, Marie-Hélène Parizeau. “We will defend him in all circumstances. »