COVID-19 vaccines still mandatory for Canadian cross-border truckers, feds say
Global News
The federal government said Thursday a vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers is going forward, clearing up an incorrect statement from the Canada Border Services Agency.
Truck drivers crossing into Canada from the United States will indeed need to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 starting Saturday, despite a statement sent “in error” from the Canada Border Services Agency late Wednesday appearing to reverse course on the mandate.
“On November 19, 2021, we announced that as of January 15, 2022, certain categories of travellers who are currently exempt from entry requirements, will only be allowed to enter the country if they are fully vaccinated with one of the vaccines approved for entry into Canada,” read a joint statement from the federal ministers of health, transport and public safety released just before 5 p.m. on Thursday.
“These groups include several essential service providers, including truck drivers. Let us be clear: This has not changed. The information shared yesterday was provided in error. Our teams have been in touch with industry representatives to ensure they have the correct information.”
The North American trucking industry had been gearing up for Saturday’s deadline, at which point all truck drivers crossing into Canada would need to be fully vaccinated to avoid isolation and testing requirements.
The U.S. has planned a similar mandate to go into effect for any driver crossing into the States as of Jan. 22.
The Canadian Trucking Alliance says 10 to 15 per cent of drivers in the industry are currently unvaccinated. The mandate would therefore take an estimated 12,000 Canadian truckers and thousands more from the U.S. off cross-border shipping routes, a sharp reduction in available workers for an industry already facing a labour shortage and supply chain constraints.
While industry representatives had tried to convince officials in both Canada and the United States to push back the vaccination deadline, CTA president Stephen Laskowski told Global News on Thursday that the industry was not expecting any changes to the policy ahead of Saturday and was seeking clarity on how the policy would be enforced.
Instead, the situation only became hazier on Wednesday evening, when a CBSA spokesperson told media in a statement that Canadian truckers would be exempt from the vaccination requirements to return to the country.
