Trucker vaccine mandate confusion left industry scrambling, some drivers quarantining

Conflicting messaging from federal officials in the days leading up to the implementation of Canada's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for truckers left transport companies scrambling to recall drivers, and as a result some have had to quarantine, according to one industry group.

The Private Motor Truck Council of Canada just completed an informal survey of its membership in Canada’s trucking workforce in an effort to establish the current vaccination rate and the impact of the confusion leading up to the policy coming into effect.

In response, the council heard from 70 companies. Of those, 25 had dispatched a total of 156 unvaccinated drivers to the U.S. during the approximately 16-hour window in which it was believed that the government had backed down from the contentious policy.

This confusion started after the Canada Border Services Agency told reporters on Jan. 12 that unvaccinated Canadian truck drivers arriving at the border from the U.S. would be exempted from any testing or quarantine requirements when the new policy came into effect on Jan. 15.

However, on Jan. 13 federal ministers issued a statement saying that CBSA had erred, and as was initially announced, unvaccinated Canadian truckers would not be exempted.