FILE PHOTO: A healthcare worker from Humber River hospital’s mobile vaccination team administers the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at The Church of Pentecost Canada in Toronto, Ontario, Canada May 4, 2021. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio/File Photo
August 13, 2021
By Julie Gordon and Steve Scherer
OTTAWA (Reuters) -Canada on Friday said it will soon require all federal public servants and many other workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19, as it looks to boost its already world-leading inoculation rate amid a Delta-driven surge in new infections.
The vaccine mandate, which will also include air, train and cruise ship travelers, comes just two days ahead of an expected election call by Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and could prove to be a wedge issue in the campaign.
Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs Dominic LeBlanc said that the vaccine requirement for public servants will be in place by the end of October and that he expects state-owned corporations and other federally regulated employers to follow suit.
“We expect the federal public service to want to comply with this mandatory requirement,” LeBlanc said in a news conference. “This is the best way to end the pandemic and allow the economy to safely remain open.”
He added that testing and other measures will be put in place for those who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons.
Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said that employees in the federally regulated air, rail, and marine transportation sectors will also be required to be vaccinated, along with certain travelers.
“This includes all commercial air travelers, passengers on interprovincial trains, and passengers on large marine vessels with overnight accommodations, such as cruise ships,” Alghabra said in the same news conference.
Canada’s second largest airline Westjet said it was “working diligently to implement this policy for airline employees” and would follow requirements for passengers, but suggested rapid-testing as an alternative for unvaccinated travelers.
Canada has 300,000 federal public servants and hundreds of thousands more people work for government owned or regulated corporations.
A majority of Canadians support a proof-of-vaccination system, according to a July EKOS Research poll, though it is less popular with Conservative voters who are also less likely to be vaccinated than people who support the ruling Liberals.
Trudeau’s chief rival, Conservative leader Erin O’Toole, had no immediate comment.
Canada’s vaccine mandate for government workers is stronger than a similar initiative by the White House, which requires all U.S. federal workers be vaccinated or face regular testing and mask mandates.
A number of other countries have mandated vaccines for healthcare and care-home workers, and some require proof of vaccination to access public spaces like bars and restaurants. Canada is planning a vaccine passport for international travel.
Canada has one of the best inoculation rates in the world, with more than 82% of eligible people having one shot and 71% fully-vaccinated. Still, active cases have doubled in two weeks amid a Delta-driven fourth wave.
(Reporting by Julie Gordon and Steve Scherer in Ottawa; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Paul Simao)
