Sask. premier slams vaccine mandate for truck drivers
On the same day protest convoys rolled through the province's two largest cities, Saskatchewan premier Scott Moe came out against the federal government's new cross-border COVID-19 vaccine mandate for truck drivers.
"We view this as being an unnecessary vaccine mandate for this particular industry," Moe said when asked about the mandate during a press conference in Regina.
The semi convoys that passed through the province on Monday are in reaction to the recent introduction of COVID-19 vaccine requirements for cross-border commercial truck drivers.
"The vast majority of our truckers, our transport guys are vaccinated like the vast majority of the general population."
Moe pointed to a deal Saskatchewan and Manitoba inked with North Dakota last year that helped Prairie truck drivers access vaccines on the U.S. side of the border when doses were more scarce.
"Our truckers were going back and forth throughout this pandemic, they've done so I think largely in a very safe manner," Moe said.
The Saskatchewan premier said the widespread availability of rapid COVID-19 tests has also changed the equation for the industry.
"They didn't have these tools available to them a year ago," Moe said.
The fact that transport trucks deliver food and other necessities is also of particular concern for Moe.
"It's an unnecessary policy, and it's one that's going to have, unfortunately, potentially some significant impacts on us accessing essential services, including food and that we need in our communities," Moe said.
In a Jan. 13 news release announcing the measure, the federal government said it will continue to consider "further targeted measures" at Canada's borders "to keep Canadians safe."
Under the new federal rules, unvaccinated drivers who are Canadian citizens, registered under the Indian Act or are permanent residents can not be turned back at the border — but will need to quarantine and undergo testing.
However, unvaccinated "foreign national" drivers will be turned back at the border, according to the federal government.
Additionally, under a new Department of Homeland Security rule which came into effect on Jan. 22, any non-citizen entering the U.S. — including those travelling for essential reasons — must be fully vaccinated.
In a news release, the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) said it "strongly disapproves" of the protests against the mandate.
CTA president Stephen Laskowski is instead encouraging unvaccinated drivers to "adapt."
“The Government of Canada and the United States have now made being vaccinated a requirement to cross the border. This regulation is not changing," Laskowski said.
“The only way to cross the border, in a commercial truck or any other vehicle, is to get vaccinated.”
Like Moe, the CTA also said the "vast majority" of truck drivers are already fully vaccinated.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Train derailed in Sarnia after colliding with a truck
Police are investigating after a transport truck collided with a train in Sarnia.
World seeing near breakdown of international law amid wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Amnesty says
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
Fewer medical students going into family medicine contributing to doctor shortage
As some family doctors are retiring and others are moving away from family medicine, there are fewer medical students to take their place.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.