UPDATE:The federalgovernment issued a statement Thursday afternoon confirming the vaccination mandate for Canadian truckers returning to Canada will indeed come into effect this Saturday..“Let us be clear: Thishas not changed. The information shared yesterday was provided in error. Our teams have been in touch with industry representatives to ensure they have the correct information,” reads the statement..Days before it was set to take effect, the federal government is partially hitting the brakes on a vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers, however it seems unlikely it will make much of a difference..The mandate — set forth by the federal Liberal government — would have forced both Canadian and American truckers crossing the border into Canada to provide proof-of-vaccination upon arrival..The new policy was dated to take effect Saturday, but as the deadline ran near concerns of inevitable supply chain disruptions became widespread as the federal government was ready to green-light the loss of 12,000-16,000 (10-15%) cross-border commercial drivers, as anticipated by the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA)..Of the $650 billion in goods traded annually between the US and Canada, more than two-thirds are transported on roads, mostly by truckers..Following public pushback, the federal government has indefinitely extended the injection deadline for Canadian truckers returning to Canada. No quarantine or testing will be required, regardless of vaccination status..Unvaccinated America truckers attempting to enter Canada will be turned down at the border..The extension however provides little relief for Canadian truckers, as US President Joe Biden has set mandates requiring all nonresident travellers, including truckers to be fully vaccinated for entry into the US via land borders beginning January 22..So while unvaccinated American truckers are allowed to return to the US and unvaccinated Canadian truckers to Canada, it makes no difference beyond one week since both groups are respectively barred from entering their neighbouring country to begin with..Unless changes take place on both sides of the border, the movement of all unvaccinated truckers between Canada and the US will be effectively neutralized regardless of whether or not Ottawa goes through with its recently delayed mandate..Reid Small is a BC-based reporter for the Western Standard.,rsmall@westernstandardonline.com,.Twitter.com/reidsmall
