'Mass confusion' amid changing messaging on trucker vaccine mandate: industry leader
CTV
Industry experts are expressing concerns that confusion on the new COVID-19 vaccine mandate for truckers may leave some unvaccinated drivers, who were under the assumption they would be exempt, stuck if they are already en route.
Mike Millian, president of the Private Motor Truck Council of Canada, told CTV News in an emailed statement that the group is calling for a temporary exemption for those unvaccinated truckers who were dispatched earlier this week after the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) said they would be exempt from having to quarantine or provide proof of a negative molecular test at the border.
"With the news circulating on the 13th, and no clarification or correction in messaging… many carriers then dispatched some unvaccinated drivers into the U.S. to cover loads that needed to be delivered," Millian said in the statement.
He said the trucking industry was not provided clarity on the mandate until the federal government publicly announced on Thursday that unvaccinated Canadians would not be exempted from the new federal vaccine mandate for truck drivers coming into effect Saturday.
In a joint statement, Canada's transportation, health, and public safety ministers said that Canada’s initial policy stands, requiring truckers coming into Canada from the U.S. to be fully vaccinated, or face PCR testing and quarantine requirements.
