There will ultimately be no reprieve for unvaccinated truckers. Ottawa set the record straight on Thursday, saying it was correcting “erroneous” information released the day before by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). This nevertheless caused confusion within the industry for several hours.
Posted at 4:48 p.m.
As expected, the rules announced last November will come into effect on Saturday. Thus, drivers who are not fully vaccinated or who have only received a single dose of vaccine will have to go into quarantine upon their arrival in the country. Unvaccinated U.S. truckers will be turned away at the border.
“Let’s be clear: this has not changed,” said the ministers of Health, Jean-Yves Duclos, Transport, Omar Alghabra, and Public Security, Marco E. L. Mendicino, in a joint statement. “Information shared [mercredi] were wrong. “
No details were offered on the mechanism that would explain why “erroneous information” had been transmitted by a federal agency. This is a 180 degree turn from the information released Wednesday night by the CBSA. In an e-mail sent in particular to The Press, she had indicated that the exemption for Canadian truckers would not be lifted.
This decision would have given Canadian truckers a reprieve of about a week. As of January 22, the United States will have to stop accepting those who have not rolled up their sleeve twice.
“This is an unfortunate event in a period when the industry is weakened,” laments the president of the Quebec Trucking Association (ACQ), Marc Cadieux. “It was not desirable. “
The CBSA did not respond to questions from The Press about the information disseminated by e-mail. She referred the questions to the joint declaration of the three ministers. The Agency’s information was not reviewed by the ministries concerned, which would have been the source of the confusion.
Deflate the pressure
Supporters of vaccination, the trucking industry and the business community asked Ottawa to come to an agreement with Washington and wait a few more months before tightening the screws on truck drivers who have not received two doses of vaccine .
They fear a new logistical challenge that would increase pressure on supply chains, already weakened since the start of the pandemic, as well as inflationary pressure on transport costs.
With more than 20 hours between the CBSA’s announcement and the Ottawa exit, some trucking companies doing business in the United States found themselves in the dark.
This is the case of Trans-West, which has 600 employees. The Lachine-based company, whose trucks make round trips to the west coast of the United States to transport refrigerated products, had joined some of its unvaccinated employees.
“They were told they could make one or two more trips [avant le 22 janvier] because it was the information disseminated,” explains its vice-president, truck management, Pascal Gaudet. “We’re talking about a federal agency, not the local convenience store. “
According to the ACQ, the vaccination rate in the industry – already shaken by a labor shortage for several years – corresponds to the provincial portrait. In Quebec, 82% of the population aged 5 and over is fully vaccinated.
The industry estimates that there are 120,000 Canadian truckers making cross-border trips and that 10% of those would no longer be allowed to cross the border due to the new requirements. Ottawa instead puts this proportion at 5%, according to a government source who is not authorized to speak publicly.
This issue would affect both importers and exporters. According to the most recent data from the Ministère des Transports du Québec, approximately 70% of the value of trade between Québec and markets in the northeastern United States is transported by truck.
Less capacity
Only 2 of the approximately 45 drivers of L’express du midi are not vaccinated. Its president, Pierre Aubin, will find it difficult to say yes to more customers if other companies are struggling to meet demand.
“I’m full,” he says. Even if I was called in for a $25,000 orange trip, I no longer have the staff to do that. And I won’t let my regular customers down. “
Also a director at the ACQ, Mr. Aubin added that he had heard that the vaccination rate was lower in other companies.
” The reprieve [jusqu’au 22 janvier], it was to take a last breath of air, and some would have taken it, he says. We are doing well, but it’s not like that everywhere. “
The Teamsters union, which claims to represent 5,500 workers in the sector in Quebec, deplored the confusion which lasted for many hours. Surprised by the about-face, its director of communications, Stéphane Lacroix, hopes that there will be no other unpleasant surprises of the kind.
26,000
Number of drivers who could be sidelined due to vaccination rules, according to the Canadian Trucking Alliance and American Trucking Associations