The Government of Canada this evening clarified in a statement provided to the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) that unvaccinated or partially vaccinated Canadian truck drivers returning to Canada will no longer be exempt from entry requirements as of January 15, 2022, with enforcement of the border vaccination mandate moving forward as previously communicated to the industry.
The full release from the Public Health Agency of Canada can be found in English and French.
Recent media reports over the last 24 hours indicated the federal government had repealed the mandate for Canadian drivers; but officials have now clarified through notice that the “information shared yesterday was provided in error.”
The statement also indicates that unvaccinated Canadian truck drivers entering Canada after January 15 will need to meet requirements for pre-entry, including producing a PCR test prior to arrival and quarantine requirements, but they can’t be denied entry into Canada.
Government officials also confirmed that the mandate will also remain in effect for unvaccinated or partially vaccinated foreign national truck drivers entering the country as of Saturday. CTA continues to work with the American Trucking Associations on enforcement details for the U.S. mandate coming into force on January 22.
Based on discussions with ATA, the recent decision announced in the U.S. that some truck drivers will be exempt from the domestic vaccination mandate through OHSA, will not have an impact on the U.S. government’s decision to potentially rescind their border vaccination policy.
CTA maintains its position that both Washington and Ottawa must work together and make a bilateral decision to stop enforcement of the Canada-US border vaccination requirement; and work with the Alliance along and members of the supply chain to pick a more suitable enforcement date that is less disruptive to the supply chain.