Vaccine mandate now in effect for cross-border truckers re-entering Canada
A vaccine mandate is now in effect for cross-border truckers coming into Canada. Canadian truckers who are not fully vaccinated will have to show proof of a negative PCR test collected within 72 hours of arriving at the border and will need to quarantine after arrival, while unvaccinated American drivers will be denied entry.
Women’s Trucking Federation of Canada CEO Shelley Walker said her organization would have liked to see a time extension before implementation.
“I know there’s probably a lot of people out there that said COVID’s been going on a long time, our industry knew about this since November,” she said. “But there was always the hope that it would go away.”
Walker said she’s heard from some drivers who returned from the U.S. before the policy took effect at midnight.
“A few of them put in a 16-hour driving day, but they were not getting stranded down in the U.S.,” she said. “There is a shortage of PCR tests, and where do you go in a vehicle that’s 70 to 75 feet long?”
While Canadian drivers will not be denied entry, those who do not follow the policy could face enforcement action or fines. Walker said truckers are planning a convoy to Ottawa in protest.
The Canadian Trucking Alliance has said between 10 to 15 per cent of cross border drivers could be lost, during an already ongoing labour shortage for the industry.
UBC Sauder School of Business professor Mahesh Nagarajan said there will likely be shipping delays as a result of the new mandate, but it’s hard to predict the extent.
“You are now looking at an already scarce pool of drivers. Now that pool has gotten a bit shorter. So what you would have to do is you have to re-optimize your trucking, where you would take the vaccinated drivers and hopefully get them across the border,” he said. “It’s a business trade-off, because the disruption that a Covid outbreak can cause in a company is much higher than the fact that some of them will not be vaccinated.”
A vaccine mandate is also expected on the U.S. side in the coming days.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
This iconic Canadian song is turning 50
Andy Kim's 'Rock Me Gently' is marking a major milestone, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
Oprah Winfrey: I set an unrealistic standard for dieting
Oprah Winfrey said on Thursday evening that she has long played a role in promoting unhealthy and unrealistic diets.
Prince Harry, Meghan arrive in Nigeria to champion the Invictus Games and meet with wounded soldiers
Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, arrived in Nigeria on Friday to champion the Invictus Games, which he founded to aid the rehabilitation of wounded and sick servicemembers and veterans, among them Nigerian soldiers fighting a 14-year war against Islamic extremists.
Countries struggle to draft 'pandemic treaty' to avoid mistakes made during COVID
After the coronavirus pandemic triggered once-unthinkable lockdowns, upended economies and killed millions, leaders at the World Health Organization and worldwide vowed to do better in the future. Years later, countries are still struggling to come up with an agreed-upon plan for how the world might respond to the next global outbreak.
Toronto police called to Drake's Bridle Path mansion for another alleged intruder on Thursday
Toronto police say a man who allegedly attempted to access Drake’s Bridle Path property was taken to hospital on Thursday after an altercation with security guards.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Flat tire on a highway? Here's why you shouldn't try to fix it
If you're cruising down a highway and realize you have a flat tire, you may want to think twice before stopping to fix it on the side of the road.
Storm-battered U.S. South is again under threat. A boy swept into a drain fights for his life
Dangerous storms crashed over parts of the U.S. South on Thursday even as the region cleaned up from earlier severe weather that spawned tornadoes, killed at least three people, and gravely injured a boy who was swept into a storm drain as he played in a flooded street.