Vaccine Mandate Suspension Decision – A Political or a Public Health Decision?

3 minute read

Last week, the federal government announced a suspension of vaccine mandates for federal employees and for passengers boarding a plane or train across Canada. This means that, beginning today, employees and transportation workers in federally regulated sectors will no longer have to be fully vaccinated as a condition of their employment. Canadian travellers wanting to leave the country also won’t be required to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test. 

Canadian citizens entering the country from abroad will still be required to meet basic health screening requirements and masks will remain mandatory for those boarding planes or trains in Canada. Fully vaccinated travellers coming to Canada from another country will still have to enter their proof of vaccination and travel details into the ArriveCAN app within 72 hours before boarding a plane or train. If travellers entering Canada are unvaccinated, they are still subject to testing and quarantine measures.

This is a big change for a government that, even a few weeks ago, was unwavering in its support for mandates. So why now? Is this change being driven by public health advice or political pressure?

It’s no secret that airports around the world are experiencing significant backlogs, but Canada seems particularly hard hit. Critics placed the blame for this on vaccine protocols, COVID-19 screenings and major labour shortages.

Minister of Transportation Omar Alghabra disagreed. He said the long lines were due to a surge in demand and stressed the dropping of travel mandates was based on updated public health advice. The Minister did, however, acknowledge that the federal government had a responsibility to deal with the congestion. “We are working with airlines; we are working with airports, and we are doing everything we can to ease those bottlenecks,” he said. 

While Minister Alghabra downplayed the politics of his decision, the vast majority of Liberal caucus is rumoured to have wanted the government to ease vaccination requirements for domestic travel and federally regulated workplaces. This has also led to Members of Parliament talking about lifting the House of Commons’ vaccine mandate. Government House Leader, Mark Holland, confirmed last week that the House leaders from each party met to discuss the idea, and now the topic is being discussed within each caucus.

Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Dominic LeBlanc, also spoke to the changes by saying that this “announcement is possible because Canadians have stepped up to protect each other,” and have consistently followed the best advice from public health authorities. He added that the government does not regret its cautious approach to lifting mandates. 

Minister of Health Jean-Yves Duclos pointed out that the sixth wave of the pandemic in Canada is in clear decline with fewer infections, hospitalizations, and patients in intensive care than just weeks ago. Currently, a total of 32 million Canadians – nearly 90% of those eligible – have been vaccinated against COVID-19. He credited this to a “successful vaccination campaign.” 

So – maybe the Liberal government’s decision was based strictly on the data. Maybe it’s just a coincidence that we’re about a week away from the busy summer travel season. 

Regardless of the reason, the 90% of Canadians who are vaccinated are likely just relieved that the decision is another sign that we’ve moved into a new era of living with the threat of COVID-19.

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