The federal governmentâs vaccine mandate for truckers kicked in this past weekend, but its âbotched messagingâ has led to chaos in the transportation industry.Â
Catch up:Â In November 2021, the feds said a vaccine mandate would kick in for truckers entering Canada on January 15, this past Saturday. The mandate requires Canadian truckers who arenât fully vaccinated to quarantine before returning to the country. Non-Canadian truck drivers who arenât fully vaccinated would be turned away at the Canadian border.Â
- Last Wednesday, Canada Border Services Agency made a last-minute change to a vaccine mandate, noting that Canadian truckers wonât have to quarantine if they arenât fully vaccinated.
- A day later, last Thursday, the feds backtracked and said Canadian truckers who arenât fully vaccinated will have to quarantine after all. Non-Canadian truckers who are unvaccinated or have received just one of two shots will still be turned away at the Canadian border.Â
What happened: Some unvaccinated Canadian truckers were dispatched before the feds reversed course on the policy, and will now have to quarantine upon returning to Canada. Truck drivers are typically paid per mile driven, as a result, these Canadian truck drivers have lost some of their wages from the fedsâ back-and-forth on the mandate.
- The mandate sidelines up to 10% of the 120,000 Canadian truckers who travel across the border but havenât received both jabs.Â
Why itâs a big deal: Around 70% of the CA$650 billion of the trade that flows between the US and Canada moves via trucks. Driver shortages on both sides of the border might result in a shortage of products on store shelves and the prices of certain goods, from fresh produce to oxygen supplies for hospitals to kitchen appliance parts.