Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday defended the bond, saying it’s a necessary step to keep supply chains open, arguing that COVID-19 itself is the biggest risk to the economy. Canadian.
The policy, which came into effect after an exemption ended Jan. 15, means Canadian long-haul truckers must now be vaccinated against COVID-19 to avoid a two-week quarantine after crossing the border, while that unvaccinated non-Canadian truckers will be refused entry.
The United States brought into effect on Saturday its own mandatory vaccination policy for truckers, which means that unvaccinated Canadian truckers will also not be able to travel south of the border.
In separate statements, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and the Canadian Manufacturing Coalition urged Trudeau to back down.
Canadian Chamber of Commerce President Perrin Beatty said that while we are strongly in favor of vaccinating as many people as possible
, the government should allow more time before imposing the obligation on truckers.
Until now, governments have viewed truckers as providing an essential service, which has kept supply chains running even during the most severe waves of the pandemic.
, Mr. Beatty said in a written response.
Are truckers a source of contamination?
Mr Beatty said the government had not presented statistics showing that truck drivers are a major source of COVID-19 cases in Canada.
Neither Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos nor Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam was able to provide data on COVID-19 and truckers when asked. was made last week at the House of Commons Health Committee.
If the government has such figures and fears that they [les camionneurs] pose a particular threat, he should have had an educational program specifically for them a long time ago and he could have worked with the provinces and the industry to set up mobile vaccination clinics near the border, at the crossings at grade and truck stops across Canada
, Mr. Beatty said.
What we are asking is that they delay the implementation [de la vaccination obligatoire] during this time when supply chains are under great pressure and they are using this time to encourage and facilitate vaccination
, he added.
The Coalition of Manufacturers of Canada, which represents more than 30 professional manufacturing associations, called for the complete abandonment of the vaccination obligation after meeting Friday with the Minister of Industry, François-Philippe Champagne.
Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters President Dennis Darby, who chairs the coalition, told Mr. Champagne that Canadians see empty shelves
because the mandatory vaccination policy aggravates supply chain bottlenecks.
In a statement, Darby said the meeting with Minister Champagne was a good first step, but now we need to see concrete actions from the government to start addressing these challenges, starting with canceling the mandatory vaccination of truckers
.
Supply chains were already grappling with two years of pandemic disruption with workers falling ill due to COVID-19 and multiple weather events, including snowstorms and flooding last fall in British Columbia .
On Monday, Prime Minister Trudeau showed no willingness to adjust policy and said getting vaccinated was the most important way to keep Canada’s economy going. He said the Conservatives are holding alarmist remarks
about empty store shelves.
Mr. Trudeau reiterated that the Canadian Trucking Alliance claims that 90% of truckers are already vaccinated. On Sunday, the group denounced a convoy of hundreds of truckers who are currently traveling to Ottawa to demonstrate against the policy.
The reality is that vaccination is the way we are going to get out of this.
, said Mr. Trudeau.
Conservatives fear empty shelves
The Conservatives are pressuring the Prime Minister to lift the requirement, calling it a risk to supply chains and Canada’s economic recovery.
Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole called on the government to allow unvaccinated truckers to take rapid tests and argued the public health effects would be minimal.
Mr O’Toole avoided saying on Monday whether he would meet the truck convoy. He also declined to say whether those taking part in the protest had his support.
It is not for the Leader of the Opposition or a political party to attend a demonstration on the Hill or a convoy
, he said in Ottawa.
Former Conservative leader Andrew Scheer went public when a convoy arrived in Ottawa in 2019 to demonstrate against a range of issues, including the Liberal government’s energy policies.
Over the weekend, both Liberals and Conservatives posted messages on social media to show whether store shelves were full or empty. Conservative Transport Critic Melissa Lantsman has been accused of misleading Canadians by sharing a photo of empty shelves that turned out to be an image of a British grocery store.
Several Liberal supporters and political staffers posted photos of fully stocked shelves as proof that there was no supply chain problem.