I wrote the following to the assistant vice-president of student affairs.
If the University of Toronto continues to make the health services incidental fee compulsory, what is it that allows the university not to call this an annual fee? Frankly, I do not think the university has a right to charge this fee under the present legislation and its interpretations.
It took more than 5 months and a reminder letter to receive a reply, which included the following explanation.
My inquiries have led me to conclude that the fee we are charging
is not ruled out by the document you have received from the College
of Physicians and Surgeons.
University health service fees are, in fact, fairly common in
Ontario universities. They have been discussed with the officials
who manage OHIP payments and have not been objected to. We interpret
the fee not as a fee for "noninsured services" in the
sense of the College's policy but rather as covering much more.
It is a fee to cover the costs of putting the health services
in place for the health promotion activities and other nonmedical
services that are implied by the mandate of a university health
service.
Although I found this answer less than satisfactory, I did not pursue the matter because of course-work pressures. Perhaps the Society of Graduate Students at the University of Western Ontario will have more energy.
Monir Taha, MD, CCFP, MHSc, FRCPC
Saint John, NB