All truck drivers crossing the border must be fully vaccinated as of Saturday, regardless of whether they are Canadian citizens or foreign nationals, the federal government said Thursday.
Confusion over the controversial policy has been widespread since the federal government first announced in mid-November that by Jan. 15, all foreign nationals working as truckers would have to be fully vaccinated to enter Canada.
The same announcement said unvaccinated Canadian truckers would be allowed in, but would be subject to quarantine and testing requirements.
On Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Canada Border Services Agency said the federal government was backing down from that commitment and would allow Canadian truckers to enter the country without having to quarantine even if they were unvaccinated or had received only one dose.
Today, the federal government walked back that statement, saying that Wednesday’s statement was “provided in error” and that the regulations outlined in November will stand.
Transport Minister Omar Alghabra told CBC News Network’s Power & Politics that while the spokesperson had “incomplete” information, the federal government’s policy has not changed.
“Since November 19 we’ve been consistent in all of our meetings with stakeholders, in all of our interviews with the public,” he said.
WATCH | Transport minister discusses the vaccine policy for truckers on CBC’s Power & Politics
Transport minister says spokesperson had ‘incomplete information’ on vaccine rules
10 hours ago
Duration 1:58
Transport Minister Omar Alghabra says a government spokesperson ‘misspoke’ about the government’s position on its vaccine mandate for truckers. 1:58
Trade associations on both sides of the border had been pushing for a delay to the restriction, which they say would put additional strain on supply chains amid the latest COVID-19 surge and severe worker shortages.
About 10 per cent of the 120,000 Canadian truckers who cross the border may not be able to work those routes because they haven’t been vaccinated, according to the trucking alliance.
Cash bonuses to get vaccinated
The vaccine mandate is already starting to affect trucking operations.
“There are many of our members who have already said they will not be dispatching unvaccinated drivers across the border,” said Canadian Trucking Alliance president Stephen Laskowski.
Transport companies never opposed the vaccine mandate, Laskowski said.
“It’s the timing of it,” he added, citing factors putting pressure on supply chains, such as clogged ports and workers off sick.
The new rule could encourage reluctant workers to roll up their sleeves. One Montreal-based logistics company offered a $10,000 bonus last month to all drivers who received their first vaccine dose by mid-January in the hopes of retaining employees and boosting inoculation rates.
The impact on supply chains
Guy Milette, executive vice-president of the Quebec based fruit and vegetable importer Courchesne Larose Ltd., said the mandate will put pressure on prices and the supply of goods, especially given the time of year.
From “January up to April is the worst of the year and [sees] the highest percentage of imported vegetables,” he told CBC News. “So the impact that we’re [talking] about today, it’s coming in the worst portion … of the year.”
Ontario-based Titanium Transportation Group, which boasts a fleet of 800 tractors, says 95 per cent of its drivers are fully vaccinated.
“More than likely there’s no good time, right? They’ve had this exemption for quite a long time. So maybe this is the right time,” CEO Ted Daniel said.
Still, trade groups have been calling on the federal government to postpone the Saturday deadline.
Recent flooding in British Columbia and China’s “zero-COVID policy” have added to supply-chain bottlenecks, the Canadian Manufacturing Coalition said in a letter signed by 18 industry association heads who are asking for a delay.
The Petroleum Services Association of Canada said the vaccine mandate will “only aggravate things further.”
Food and agricultural products could also feel the squeeze.
Nearly two-thirds of the roughly $21 billion in agri-food imports that Canada receives from the United States each year arrive by truck, according to Sylvain Charlebois, a Dalhousie University professor of food distribution and policy. The reliance on U.S. products is especially high in winter.
Fuelling inflation
Conservative MP Melissa Lantsman said the vaccine mandate for truckers will add to the country’s supply chain woes and drive up prices even further.
“At a time when inflation is already at a record high, Canadians will be the ones paying the price for the Trudeau government’s poor policy decisions. Canada’s Conservatives will be the voice of Canadians who are being priced out of their own lives in Justin Trudeau’s economy,” she said in a media statement.
Alghabra disagreed with that statement, telling Power & Politics guest host David Cochrane that the biggest threat to the supply chain is not a vaccine mandate but the pandemic, and vaccination is the only way to beat it.
“We take our advice from experts, from public health experts, and everybody knows that vaccines are our best way out of this,” he said. “Everybody knows that vaccines are the best way to protect supply chains, and we are proceeding with what we believe is the best thing for Canadians and Canada’s economy.”
‘I won’t comply’
Bridgitte Belton, an unvaccinated truck driver, said she and her husband, who is also a trucker, will not be getting vaccinated despite the trouble the mandate will cause for her financially when it kicks in on Saturday.
“I lose my truck. I lose my house. I lose my car. I basically will have absolutely nothing left,” she told CBC News.
“I won’t comply. I will not get the shot in the arm. Who am I really protecting? I’m protecting somebody that lives in long term care. I don’t go there … I live in my truck. When I go home, I go home to my husband, who’s also a truck driver.”
Luis Franco Robles, a fully vaccinated truck driver from Alberta, told CBC News that he is in favour of the coming regulations, adding that imposing the mandate is the “right thing to do.”
“It’s a matter of public health, period … And so we need to do our part … as citizens, to do what’s right for everybody else,” he told CBC News.
“You cannot put your personal beliefs in front of this because you’re affecting other people. It’s a matter of life and death.”
Moe is set to speak in the city of Yorkton about affordability measures this morning before travelling to the nearby village of Theodore for an event with the local Saskatchewan Party candidate.
NDP Leader Carla Beck doesn’t have any events scheduled, though several party candidates are to hold press conferences.
On Thursday, Moe promised a directive banning “biological boys” from using school changing rooms with “biological girls” if re-elected.
The NDP said the Saskatchewan Party was punching down on vulnerable children.
Election day is Oct. 28.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 18, 2024.
REGINA – Saskatchewan Party Leader Scott Moe is promising a directive banning “biological boys” from using school changing rooms with “biological girls” if re-elected, a move the NDP’s Carla Beck says weaponizes vulnerable kids.
Moe made the pledge Thursday at a campaign stop in Regina. He said it was in response to a complaint that two biological males had changed for gym class with girls at a school in southeast Saskatchewan.
He said the ban would be his first order of business if he’s voted again as premier on Oct. 28.
It was not previously included in his party’s campaign platform document.
“I’ll be very clear, there will be a directive that would come from the minister of education that would say that biological boys will not be in the change room with biological girls,” Moe said.
He added school divisions should already have change room policies, but a provincial directive would ensure all have the rule in place.
Asked about the rights of gender-diverse youth, Moe said other children also have rights.
“What about the rights of all the other girls that are changing in that very change room? They have rights as well,” he said, followed by cheers and claps.
The complaint was made at a school with the Prairie Valley School Division. The division said in a statement it doesn’t comment on specific situations that could jeopardize student privacy and safety.
“We believe all students should have the opportunity to learn and grow in a safe and welcoming learning environment,” it said.
“Our policies and procedures align with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code.”
Asked about Moe’s proposal, Beck said it would make vulnerable kids more vulnerable.
Moe is desperate to stoke fear and division after having a bad night during Wednesday’s televised leaders’ debate, she said.
“Saskatchewan people, when we’re at our best, are people that come together and deliver results, not divisive, ugly politics like we’ve seen time and again from Scott Moe and the Sask. Party,” Beck said.
“If you see leaders holding so much power choosing to punch down on vulnerable kids, that tells you everything you need to know about them.”
Beck said voters have more pressing education issues on their minds, including the need for smaller classrooms, more teaching staff and increased supports for students.
People also want better health care and to be able to afford gas and groceries, she added.
“We don’t have to agree to understand Saskatchewan people deserve better,” Beck said.
The Saskatchewan Party government passed legislation last year that requires parents consent to children under 16 using different names or pronouns at school.
The law has faced backlash from some LGBTQ+ advocates, who argue it violates Charter rights and could cause teachers to out or misgender children.
Beck has said if elected her party would repeal that legislation.
Heather Kuttai, a former commissioner with the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission who resigned last year in protest of the law, said Moe is trying to sway right-wing voters.
She said a change room directive would put more pressure on teachers who already don’t have enough educational support.
“It sounds like desperation to me,” she said.
“It sounds like Scott Moe is nervous about the election and is turning to homophobic and transphobic rhetoric to appeal to far-right voters.
“It’s divisive politics, which is a shame.”
She said she worries about the future of gender-affirming care in a province that once led in human rights.
“We’re the kind of people who dig each other out of snowbanks and not spew hatred about each other,” she said. “At least that’s what I want to still believe.”
Also Thursday, two former Saskatchewan Party government members announced they’re endorsing Beck — Mark Docherty, who retired last year and was a Speaker, and Glen Hart, who retired in 2020.
Ian Hanna, a speech writer and senior political adviser to former Saskatchewan Party premier Brad Wall, also endorsed Beck.
Earlier in the campaign, Beck received support from former Speaker Randy Weekes, who quit the Saskatchewan Party earlier this year after accusing caucus members of bullying.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.
REGINA – Saskatchewan‘s provincial election is on Oct. 28. Here’s a look at some of the campaign promises made by the two major parties:
Saskatchewan Party
— Continue withholding federal carbon levy payments to Ottawa on natural gas until the end of 2025.
— Reduce personal income tax rates over four years; a family of four would save $3,400.
— Double the Active Families Benefit to $300 per child per year and the benefit for children with disabilities to $400 a year.
— Direct all school divisions to ban “biological boys” from girls’ change rooms in schools.
— Increase the First-Time Homebuyers Tax Credit to $15,000 from $10,000.
— Reintroduce the Home Renovation Tax Credit, allowing homeowners to claim up to $4,000 in renovation costs on their income taxes; seniors could claim up to $5,000.
— Extend coverage for insulin pumps and diabetes supplies to seniors and young adults
— Provide a 50 per cent refundable tax credit — up to $10,000 — to help cover the cost of a first fertility treatment.
— Hire 100 new municipal officers and 70 more officers with the Saskatchewan Marshals Service.
— Amend legislation to provide police with more authority to address intoxication, vandalism and disturbances on public property.
— Platform cost of $1.2 billion, with deficits in the first three years and a small surplus in 2027.
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NDP
— Pause the 15-cent-a-litre gas tax for six months, saving an average family about $350.
— Remove the provincial sales tax from children’s clothes and ready-to-eat grocery items like rotisserie chickens and granola bars.
— Pass legislation to limit how often and how much landlords can raise rent.
— Repeal the law that requires parental consent when children under 16 want to change their names or pronouns at school.
— Launch a provincewide school nutrition program.
— Build more schools and reduce classroom sizes.
— Hire 800 front-line health-care workers in areas most in need.
— Launch an accountability commission to investigate cost overruns for government projects.
— Scrap the marshals service.
— Hire 100 Mounties and expand detox services.
— Platform cost of $3.5 billion, with small deficits in the first three years and a small surplus in the fourth year.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct .17, 2024.
