The Canadian government is removing the requirement that domestic and international outbound passengers be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of June 20.
This change will allow unvaccinated Canadians to board planes, trains and buses heading to national or international locations, but will still have to be quarantined when re-entering from another country. Foreigners coming to Canada will still have to be vaccinated.
Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra, Treasury Board President Mona Fortier and Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos made the announcement on Tuesday, which also includes major updates. of Canada’s Vaccine Mandates for Transportation Workers and Federal Employees.
In revealing the updated policies, the government says the mandates have been effective during the bulk of the pandemic, but were never permanent. However, if the number of cases increases again, federal officials say they will not hesitate to reinstate the warrants.
Federal mandates requiring all air or train passengers to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before boarding were first promised by the Liberals during the last federal election and came into force in October 2021.
In recent months, pressure has increased for the government to lift the travel vaccination requirements of opposition and travel industry politicians, citing major tensions and delays at Canadian airports, as well as easing regulations. provincial public health.
Throughout these calls, the Liberals have defended the mandates, repeatedly referring to the need to follow science and the advice of public health officials. On Tuesday, ministers said the federal government’s “top priority” remains to keep Canadians safe and that the move is not related to easing tensions at Canadian airports.
Last week, the government stopped mandatory mandatory testing of vaccinated travelers at airports, but maintained the requirement that all unvaccinated travelers be cleared.
On the way to the cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Prime Minister Steven MacKinnon was asked on what basis the government has decided to remove these travel requirements, saying it would leave it for Duclos to respond later.
“We are seeing, of course, a marked decline in the number of cases, and therefore in the threat to public health. And so I think it is time to move on from some of these measures. “It simply came to our notice then.
In order to be considered fully vaccinated in accordance with federal policy, people have had to show proof of a full range of vaccinations, but not a booster dose, despite calls from public health officials to make a third. dose as part of the requirement to better protect against disease.
More details to come …