A COVID-19 vaccine mandate for truckers crossing into Canada from the United States came into effect on Saturday, causing "limited delays" at some border crossings and raising worries about future disruptions to the supply chain as the pandemic drags on.
As of Saturday, Canadian truckers must be vaccinated if they want to avoid quarantine and a pre-arrival molecular test, while unvaccinated American big-riggers are to be turned back at the border.
Trucking industry groups accused the federal government of sparking confusion after the Canada Border Services Agency suggested earlier this week that Ottawa was backtracking on the rules, only to have that information refuted the next day.
The president of the Canadian Trucking Alliance says the application of the mandate could potentially cause some slowdowns at the border in the coming days if unvaccinated truckers have to turn their big rigs around.
But Stephen Laskowski says the bigger concern is over wider impacts on the supply chain caused by driver shortages, which are likely to be felt cumulatively in the coming weeks and months.
Mike Millian, the president of the Private Motor Truck Council of Canada, said in an interview that as of midday Saturday, the borders appeared to be flowing smoothly.
But he said some Canadian truckers who were dispatched during the 16-hour window in which Ottawa's erroneous announcement spread through the sector will have to face consequences upon their return.
"There's going to be drivers returning in the next two, three, four days who were expecting not to quarantine who will have to quarantine," he said in a phone interview with The Canadian Press.
A spokesperson for the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) said in an email that traveller processing times in the commercial stream had increased at some ports of entry, resulting in "some limited delays" in the hours following the new rules.
Public health experts have suggested in recent days that Canada could be nearing the peak of infections from the pandemic's current, Omicron-driven wave. But hospitalizations and deaths, which tend to lag behind, showed no sign of easing on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Federal Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair announced late Friday that Canadian Forces Rangers were being deployed to the remote northern First Nation of Attawapiskat, which has been struggling with a growing outbreak.
The Weeneebayko Area Health Authority, which serves the James Bay region of Ontario, reported nine new cases in Attawapiskat on Friday, bringing the total number of infected in the community to 40.
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ΚΑΝΑΔΑΣ: ΑΠΑΓΟΡΕΥΣΗ ΕΙΣΟΔΟΥ ΣΕ ΜΗ ΕΜΒΟΛΙΑΣΜΕΝΟΥΣ ΟΔΗΓΟΥΣ ΦΟΡΤΗΓΩΝ ΑΠΟ ΧΘΕΣ ΣΑΒΒΑΤΟ
