COVID-19 vaccine won’t be required for Canada’s federally regulated trucking sector

August 18, 2021

Land Line Staff

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Canada’s federal government has clarified its intent on which segments of the federally regulated transportation sectors will be required to have workers be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

The federally regulated trucking sector will not be included in this regulatory change, according to a bulletin from the Canadian Trucking Alliance.

Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Transport Minister Omar Alghabra announced in a news conference on Friday, Aug. 13, the Government of Canada’s intent to require vaccination for the federal public service as early as the end of September.

The government also announced it will require employees in the federally regulated transportation sectors of air, rail, and marine to be vaccinated by no later than the end of October.

The vaccination requirement will also extend to certain travelers, including all commercial air travelers, passengers on interprovincial trains, and passengers on large marine vessels with overnight accommodations, such as cruise ships.

For all other federally regulated sectors, including trucking, both ministers are “strongly encouraging” employers to continuously urge vaccination within their workforce.

“The government of Canada is leading by example in requiring vaccinations for public service employees, and we are asking all federally regulated employers to develop vaccine plans to ensure their employees and workplaces are safe,” Alghabra said in an official news release issued by the Treasury Board on Aug. 13.

The board’s release states that since the start of the vaccination campaign in mid-December 2020, less than 1% of COVID-19 cases have been among those who were fully protected by the vaccine. More than 71% of eligible people in Canada are fully vaccinated, and more than 82% have had their first shot. More than 6 million eligible people in Canada are still unvaccinated. LL