TORONTO – Starting June 20, unvaccinated Canadians can return to board a plane, bus or passenger train. After suspending random tests for Covid-19 at airports until June 30, the federal government announced the end of the vaccination obligation as well as for domestic travel on planes and trains also for international ones departing from Canada. Upon returning from another country, however, travelers are required to observe quarantine. Foreign nationals arriving in Canada will still need to be immunized. Federal employees and transportation workers in federally regulated industries will also no longer need to be fully vaccinated in order to work. Those who are on unpaid administrative leave due to their vaccination status will then be invited to return to work.
This was announced today during a conference by the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs Dominic LeBlanc, the Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra, the President of the Treasury Board Mona Fortier and the Minister of Health Jean-Yves Duclos.
“We are following the science. We are following the advice given to us and we are observing, of course, a sharp decline in the number of infections and therefore the threat to public health, so I believe it is time to eliminate these measures,” said Steve MacKinnon, head of government, before the official announcement. However, Duclos said, if the case count were to rise again we would not hesitate to reinstate the vaccination obligation.
In recent months, due to significant tensions and delays at Canadian airports, pressure has increased from opposition politicians and the travel industry for the government to lift the immunization requirement in order to travel.
Liberals have so far defended the vaccination obligation by referring several times to the need to follow science and the advice of public health officials.
Today, ministers said the federal government’s “top priority” remains to keep Canadians safe and that this move has nothing to do with the plight at Canadian airports. But while the government cites only health reasons for suspending the vaccination obligation, Greater Toronto Airports Authority GTAA spokeswoman Tori Gass said removing the vaccination requirement will be helpful as laid off airport workers can be rehired during this busy travel season.
“Although vaccination rates have been high throughout the Toronto Pearson worker community during the pandemic, there are hundreds of employees out of service because of this policy and the lifting of the obligation represents a very positive development,” Gass said. you could, for example, transfer all health checks out of the airport.”
Last week the government blocked mandatory random testing at airports for vaccinated travelers but maintained the requirement to swab all those not immunized. Now, temporarily, the vaccination passport has also disappeared.