COVID-19: Saskatchewan Trucking Industry Confused After Feds Reverse Course on Vaccine Mandate | The Canadian News

Saskatchewan’s trucking industry joins others who may be confused after the federal government clarified that drivers crossing the Canada-US border would have to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

The Canada Border Services Agency said a statement that appeared to reverse the course of the mandate was sent “by mistake” on Wednesday.

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COVID-19 Vaccines Remain Mandatory for Canadian Cross-Border Truckers, Feds Say

Saskatchewan Trucking Association Executive Director Susan Ewart said there is a lot of confusion within the industry as a result.

“It definitely makes it hard to communicate, right? What is the correct message?

Ewart added that vaccination rates within the trucking industry have been good, with 83 percent to 87 percent of drivers vaccinated.

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“We’ve asked all along for the federal government to provide strong policy decisions when they look at these things and use data and interpret what’s going on with driver shortages and supply chain issues,” Ewart said.

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Truckers Warn U.S. Border Vaccination Mandate Could Worsen Supply Chain Problems

Ewart says there are nearly 23,000 job openings in the industry due to an aging workforce and a “major shortage of drivers.”

“As the economy starts to recover and things start to get going again and we don’t have the capacity to be able to move these things, we’re definitely going to create a serious disruption in that supply chain,” Ewart said.

Starting Saturday, all truck drivers crossing into Canada will be required to be fully vaccinated to avoid isolation and testing requirements.

“It’s going to be a little tricky at the border, I think tomorrow or the day after,” Ewart said.

The trucking industry is forecasting a loss of 10 to 15 percent or about 16,000 drivers when the mandate takes effect, Ewart said.

“If you think about trade between Canada and the US, we know that we’re moving about $650 billion in exports, and since Saskatchewan is a landlocked province, we need trucks to move those exports,” Ewart added.

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Global News asked Saskatchewan truckers what they thought about the mandate.

“I wouldn’t waste my time going back and forth, that’s for sure,” Galen Young said.


Click to Play Video: 'Saskatchewan Trucking Industry Reacts to Upcoming Border Vaccine Mandate'



Saskatchewan trucking industry reacts to upcoming border vaccine mandate


Saskatchewan trucking industry reacts to upcoming border vaccine mandate

Others didn’t mind politics.

“Why not? It’s a good thing. Everyone should get (the COVID-19 vaccine),” Robert Shaeffer said.

Mustakali Maradia added that he is vaccinated and is preparing for his booster shot.

“But some drivers don’t like to get vaccinated, so they are quitting their jobs,” Maradia added.

— with files from Craig Lord of Global News

© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.



Reference-globalnews.ca

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