Vaccine mandates for domestic, outbound travel to end

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This article was published 14/06/2022 (1254 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

COVID-19 vaccine mandates for domestic and outbound international travellers are being suspended — for now, ministers announced Tuesday.

The new rules — or lack thereof — will come into effect on June 20.

Several ministers lauded Canada’s high vaccination rate at a news conference to announce the changes, but Intergovernmental Affairs Infrastructure and Communities Minister Dominic LeBlanc warned the government is prepared to reinstate mandates and restrictions if there is a surge of the virus.

Asked what would constitute a surge, he only said there were several factors, including rising case numbers. The decision to drop the federal mandate is not a response to the situation at Canada’s airports but rather is “based on science,” LeBlanc said.

“We don’t regret at all being cautious when it comes to a virus that has tragically killed tens of thousands of Canadians and millions of people around the world,” LeBlanc said. “Acting prudently has saved lives.”

These vaccine requirements have been blamed by travel industry groups for slowdowns at airport customs, causing long waits for passengers and forced flight delays and cancellations.

Airport delays have been caused by a number of factors, said Transport Minister Omar Alghabra, including staffing shortages. The decision to lift these requirements is based on science, he said, but will not have an immediate impact on travel times.

The government has already taken a number of steps to speed up processing, including hiring 900 more staff.

Travellers will still need to fill out health questions through the ArriveCan app when travelling to Canada, even with continued congestion issues at airport customs.

“We’re working on efficiencies to ensure that ArriveCan is less of a source of complaint. However, it continues to be a meaningful tool to verify the vaccination status of travellers who are arriving into our borders,” Alghabra said.

In addition, people will still need to wear masks when on federally regulated planes and trains. This is because people are in close proximity to one another and masks have been shown to reduce transmission of the virus, Alghabra said. Foreign nationals coming to Canada will still have to be vaccinated in order to enter. Vaccination requirements for passengers and crew of cruise ships will remain in effect.

The COVID situation isn’t the same as it was when the vaccine requirements were implemented last fall, Alghabra said. Canadians rolled up their sleeves and got their two doses, leading Canada to have one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, which in turn led to lower cases and making the announcement possible.

However, in that time calls from health experts have been growing to get more people to receive a third dose. Among them is Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, who said in comments last Friday in a technical briefing that epidemiology shows two doses isn’t enough to protect against severe outcomes. More people need to get a third and possibly a fourth dose, she said, which means provincial and government agencies must do more to encourage people to get another shot.

Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said the government is changing requirements now because of new and positive epidemiological trends anticipated for the next few months.

“The number of hospitalizations, cases and deaths has fallen and experts tell us that we should expect the next few weeks in the summertime to be relatively good in terms of COVID-19,” Duclos said.

With that positive news, he echoed LeBlanc’s concern over surging cases and the possibility of new variants arriving in the near future. The fall is when any resurgence historically happens, so the federal government is working with provincial and territorial governments in the event this happens, and they can ramp up vaccinations. While more than 89 per cent of Canadians over the age of 12 have at least two doses of an approved COVID-19 vaccine, only about 55 per cent of them have received a booster shot.

The federal government is moving away from encouraging people to be fully vaccinated and instead move toward making sure Canadians are “up to date” on their COVID-19 vaccinations.

Duclos added this announcement is a suspension. The requirements can be re-instated if need be. As well, vaccine mandates have been lifted for all federally regulated workers for the time being all those who refused to get one or were unable to and put on unpaid leave because of their vaccination status.

The mandates applied to all members of the core federal public service, which included the RCMP. Federally regulated workplaces like Crown corporations and banks were also required to have a COVID-19 vaccine mandate policy for employees.

The federal government hasn’t disclosed how many employees have been put on leave, but Treasury Board President Mona Fortier said close to 99 per cent of public servants are fully vaccinated with two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.

“Those who were put on leave without pay will be contacted by their managers to resume their regular duties with pay.”

Fortier said she expects government agencies and Crown corporations to remove vaccine mandates for their workers for the time being.

Like all changes, this could cause some anxiety, a spokesperson for the provincial government stated in an email. The province knows COVID-19 restrictions have taken a toll on many people’s health and well-being, but it is prepared for changes, as evidenced by the province-wide move from restrictions to recommendations in mid-March.

However, Manitoba Public Health continues to monitor the COVID situation, along with many other conditions that may affect public health. Manitoba Public Health is working closely with the federal government and has assured it that the province continues to follow COVID-19 trends very closely, including what is happening in other jurisdictions in Canada and around the world.

In addition, vaccination continues to be the best defence against severe outcomes from COVID-19, the spokesperson stated. Public health encourages Manitobans to get their next dose as soon as they are eligible.

In comments to the Canadian Press, Conservative transport critic Melissa Lantsman’s response to the announcement was simply “finally,” as she and other MPs in her party have been calling for an end to the mandates for months.

She pointed out on Twitter that “suspending” mandates is not the same as eliminating them and there will still be some federal mandates in place.

» kmckinley@brandonsun.com, with files from the Canadian Press

» Twitter: @karenleighmcki1