The boss of a Canadian trucking organization says mixed messages from the federal government about mandatory vaccinations are wreaking havoc on the transportation community and could further harm supply chains.
The Canada Border Services Agency announced on Wednesday that mandatory vaccinations for truckers entering Canada from the United States would not come into effect on Saturday as planned, but Ottawa backtracked the next day, saying the rule would be finally in force as of Saturday, as announced in November.
Canadian Company Trucking Association president Mike Millian says many drivers — some unvaccinated — were dispatched during the 8 p.m. window in which the erroneous ad made its way into the market. sector. In a phone interview, he reported that some drivers were in a “panic” state amid “chaos and confusion” triggered by the inaccurate communications.
Opposing views
Starting this weekend, Canadian truckers must be vaccinated if they want to avoid having to go into quarantine and provide a molecular test result when they arrive in the country. American truck drivers who have not been vaccinated will be turned away at the border. The United States is preparing to impose similar restrictions on Canadian truckers on January 22.
Mr Millian says government officials told industry representatives in a virtual meeting on Friday afternoon that border agents would be encouraged to use ‘discretion’ when deciding whether to impose a fine truck drivers who were unable to take a COVID-19 screening test before their arrival.
Federal conservatives and trade groups representing oil, manufacturing and export companies have called for a postponement of mandatory trucker vaccinations, while medical professionals are pushing for mandatory vaccinations in all sectors over the long term.
The Canadian Trucking Alliance and the American Trucking Association say up to 26,000 of the 160,000 drivers who regularly make cross-border trips will be sidelined due to the vaccination requirement, adding bottlenecks to strangulation and risk driving up the prices of goods transported, ranging from food to medical devices.
With Duty