Canadian shippers and other industry associations are backing statements made by the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) which call on the Government of Canada to delay the timing of the border vaccination mandate.
The mandate, slated to take effect in January 2022, could cause significant supply chain disruptions and have wide ranging impacts on various sectors of the economy at a time when businesses across the country are already stressed by high inflation and routine service disruptions, says CTA.
The Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME) released a statement of support today urging governments on both sides of the border to reconsider the timing of the mid-January border mandate. CME acknowledged the mandate – if it moves forward as planned – would worsen the severe labour shortage that currently exists in the trucking industry, amplifying the dire supply chain disruptions manufacturers are already experiencing in various critical sectors.
CTA would also like to thank groups such as the Canadian Chamber of Commerce (CCC), which also expressed its concerns to Ottawa over severe supply chain bottlenecks this mandate would create. The CCC echoed CTA’s calls for a delaying the implementation date and urged further discussions with all members of the supply chain on how to mitigate imminent challenges.
Several U.S. Senators recently asked US President Biden to exempt Canadian truck drivers that cross the Canada-US border from the U.S. vaccination requirement. In their request, the senators expressed major concern the mandate would further exacerbate the existing supply chain challenges already felt throughout the integrated economies of both countries and supported CTA’s call to action in both Ottawa and Washington.
As the mid-January implementation date continues to loom, CTA members are strongly encouraged to educate their customers on the various impacts the pending domestic and border vaccination mandates would have on service levels and truck capacity, as well as decisions carriers will be forced to make about prioritizing certain customers or sectors due to the rapid rate of reduced driver availability and related capacity conditions brought on by the mandate.
CTA continues to actively work with multiple shipper groups and associations to educate them on the impact of this mandate. The Alliance is encouraging these and other groups throughout the supply chain to continue voicing their concerns to Ottawa or reach out to CTA at operations_safety@cantruck.ca for more information on the ramifications this mandate would have on their businesses and their customers.