The federal government has made it mandatory for government employees travelling via air, sea, or train to be fully immunized—and by October, intends to mandate vaccination for commercial travellers.
Transportation workers in the rail, air, and marine transport sectors will need to be fully immunized by late October, said Transport Minister Omar Alghabra.
Announced on Friday, August 13th, the Canadian government announced that it intends to make vaccination mandatory for interprovincial commercial air passengers, interprovincial train passengers, and cruise ship passengers and is working with commercial sectors on action plans.
Alghabra and Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc and also announced that by October employees will be required, by the government, to be fully vaccinated in the federally regulated air, rail, and marine transportation space.
The news comes as vaccination rates steady and the highly-transmissible delta variant provokes a fourth wave.
“We understand our people will have questions and will be discussing with our employee and labour groups in real-time,” said Mark Porter, WestJet Executive Vice-President.
“We are seeking additional details from the federal government on the requirement and are committed to working together to ensure the successful implementation of the policy by late October.”
Minister Leblanc said that accommodations will be made for staff who cannot get vaccinated for legitimate medical reasons.
So far, health orders and mandatory proof of vaccination has been up to provincial governments.
This news comes as BC announced it will require full immunization for health care workers in long-term care and assisted living facilities on Thursday.
