I understand where you're coming from and I have to admit that my grades have also been great during the pandemic– the return to in-person stresses me out because I started at McGill during the pandemic and am in U2 with 300 levels and no idea how to study for them. But I think the reality is that McGill, like so many other universities, gets its prestigious reputation in part because of its difficulty. That's why the McGill grading scheme is different (more lenient) than other universities in Montreal. McGill is a very difficult school, and has been for 200 years! I agree with you that online school is better for a lot of people's mental healths. Profs recording lectures in non-covid times would make it easier for people to get good grades, and the GPAs of students would go up significantly, which would somewhat decrease McGill's reputation. The same thing can be said about UofT and UBC– they're extremely difficult, but they're also the best in the country. I'm not saying I agree with the system, and I do frankly think that too much of an accent is put on higher education and "prestigious" universities. But I think this is just how it is.