Feds not backing down on vaccine mandate for Canadian truckers

Unvaccinated Canadian truckers were sent a glimmer of hope after it was reported they would avoid new restrictions at the border, but Ottawa is now admitting to a mistake. Nigel Newlove reports.

The Canadian government is standing by its vaccine mandate for truckers, despite a report Wednesday evening that it made a last-minute reversal on the policy.

The feds say “information shared yesterday was provided in error.”

Several media outlets were told that the vaccine mandate for Canadian truckers was being put on hold but Health Canada says that was a mistake – and they’re sticking to the initial plan.

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Beginning Friday, Canadian truckers will have to quarantine if they are unvaccinated or have received only one dose.

Several trade associations have pushed for a delay in the restriction because this would put an even greater strain on supply chains amid rising COVID-19 demand and severe worker shortages.

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American truckers will be turned away at the border unless they’ve been inoculated starting this weekend.

About 10 per cent of the 120,000 Canadian truckers who traverse the border may not have been able to work those routes because they haven’t received their shots, according to the trucking alliance.