Alberta monitors impact as new vaccine rules for truckers take effect | The Canadian News

A COVID-19 vaccination mandate for truckers crossing into Canada from the United States is already in place, raising concerns about future supply chain disruptions.

Canadian truckers must be vaccinated if they want to avoid quarantine and a pre-arrival molecular test, while unvaccinated US truckers will be turned back at the border.

Alberta’s transportation minister said the province will closely monitor the effects of the new vaccine mandate.

“Alberta’s transportation network is a vital part of our economy and is what connects our communities. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the movement of goods, services and people supported and drove Alberta’s economy,” Rajan Sawhney said in a press release on Saturday.

“According to the Alberta Motor Transport Association, 52 percent of Alberta’s gross domestic product is delivered in the back of a truck,” Sawhney said.

“The pandemic and recent flooding in British Columbia has shown us that the supply chain is critical and fragile, and we are doing everything we can to keep our economy running and growing in these challenging times.”

Sawhney said the province has worked with industry stakeholders throughout the pandemic and will continue to advocate for the interests of the transportation workforce, network and province.

Trucking industry groups have accused the Canadian government of creating confusion after the Canada Border Services Agency suggested earlier this week that Ottawa was rolling back the rules, only to refute that information the next day.

The Canadian Trucking Alliance president said enforcement of the mandate could cause some slowdowns at the border in the coming days if unvaccinated truckers have to turn their big rigs around.

But Stephen Lakowski says the bigger concern is the impact on the supply chain caused by the driver shortage.

The news comes as provinces continue to grapple with rising hospitalizations due to COVID-19.

— With a Canadian Press archive