Trudeau Says Advancing Vaccine Mandate For Federal Workers, # 1 Traveler Priority

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OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the number one job of his re-elected Liberal government is to implement a rule that requires most business travelers to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

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Liberals first announced the plan amid a virus resurgence just days before Trudeau triggered a snap election last month.

He used politics in part as justification for calling the vote with two years remaining in his term, saying Canadians had to decide how they wanted the pandemic to end.

The vaccine’s mandate would cover the federal civil service, travelers in federally regulated industries, including airlines, trains, and cruise ships, as well as workers in those fields.

When it was announced, the federal government said the rule for public servants could take effect at the end of September and take effect for employees in federally regulated workplaces, as well as for business travelers, “at the latest. at the end of October “.

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Neither the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), one of the unions representing federal employees, nor the Treasury Board of Canada have specified when exactly the mandate will take effect.

Speaking Tuesday at his second news conference since he was reelected on Sept. 20, Trudeau said the public service has been working on the issue with the unions.

“We will have more to say when we make the announcement in the coming weeks.”

One of the big questions that has been left pending is what will happen to public servants who are not fully vaccinated and who do not have a valid medical reason why. During the campaign, Trudeau said unvaccinated federal workers would face “consequences,” but did not elaborate on what those would be.

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His warning led the PSAC to say that he was opposed to any employee losing their job due to their vaccination status.

Details on how the mandate will apply to domestic air and rail travelers have yet to be released. The transport minister’s office says the end-October deadline is still in place, and the government is ready to discuss the policy with stakeholders, bargaining agents and those in the transport sector.

Trudeau reiterated Tuesday that all people over the age of 12 should make sure they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 if they are planning a trip.

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“You will not be able to travel by plane or train in Canada if you are not fully vaccinated,” he said.

A WestJet spokeswoman says the company is still awaiting details on the announcement and expects government officials to consult with the industry.

Morgan Bell added that it includes “setting a realistic date for implementation and discussions on how a shift to a fully vaccinated travel ecosystem will result in the recalibration of other COVID-19 travel related measures implemented during the pandemic based on science and data. “.

Air travelers must already comply with other health rules, such as wearing a mask, and during the pandemic they have had to follow various quarantine and isolation requirements depending on their destination.

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Airline passenger rights advocate Gabor Lukacs supports federal policy and believes that if the government intends to move forward by the end of next month, it should come up with a plan to address any administrative issues, as well as decide what is the most reasonable. and effective means for travelers to provide proof of vaccination.

“The faster they want to introduce it, the more flexible the rule should be for at least a couple of weeks, a couple of months, to deal with gaffes, mistakes, people who don’t have the correct paperwork and don’t create horrible consequences, “he said.

“It has to be very, very flexible in terms of how you can show that you have been vaccinated because we have so many different provinces.”

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The fact that a national vaccine passport system does not yet exist could lead to additional confusion, he said, but he also pointed out how provincial driver’s licenses have long been a recognized way for domestic travelers to travel to Canada.

Finalizing a vaccine passport for Canadians traveling abroad and helping pay the bill for provinces that have moved forward with their own proof-of-vaccination system are also at the top of Trudeau’s to-do list, he announced Tuesday. .

Rounding out the list of the prime minister’s top five priorities is protecting frontline healthcare workers by ensuring that anyone who harasses or intimidates them faces criminal penalties, Trudeau said.

He also said that he will introduce a new cabinet next month that will be gender balanced and reminiscent of Parliament this fall. Chrystia Freeland will remain as the country’s Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, she said.