Canada not requiring vaccine for truckers

Canada’s federal government has clarified its intent about 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 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 extends 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 news release stated that since the start of the vaccination campaign in mid-December 2020, less than 1% of COVID-19 cases had been among those who were fully protected by the vaccine. More than 71% of eligible people in Canada were fully vaccinated, and more than 82% had their first shot. More than 6 million eligible people in Canada were still unvaccinated. LL