Ottawa to require vaccinations for all air, train & cruise passengers, public servants

Ottawa will soon require COVID-19 vaccinations for all public servants, as well as for all air, cruise and train passengers, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said on Friday (Aug. 13).

Speaking at a press conference, Minister Alghabra said Canada “must do better” in increasing its vaccination rate, as reported by CBC News. 

Currently, 81 per cent of Canadians have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

A government mandate will soon take effect that will require vaccinations from all commercial air travellers and passengers on interprovincial trains and large marine vessels with overnight accommodations (such as cruise ships), Alghabra said.

“Vaccine requirements in the transportations sector will help protect the safety of employees, their families, passengers, their communities and all Canadians,” he said. “And more broadly, it will hasten Canada’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.”

A specific start date wasn’t announced, but Alghabra said the new policy will take effect “as quickly as possible" by the end of October.

Recognizing that not everyone can receive a COVID-19 vaccine, the Minister noted that some exceptions will be made for "those few who are unable to be vaccinated" with testing and screening accommodations. 

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suggested that his government might make COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory for some federally-regulated workplaces – including the air travel sector.

"I've asked the Clerk of the Privy Council, who is responsible for the federal public service, to look at mandatory vaccinations for federal employees. And we're also looking at federally-regulated industries, to encourage or perhaps even to mandate vaccinations for those industries," Trudeau said on Aug. 6. 

"It is time that the 80 per cent of Canadians who are doing their duty towards their neighbours, towards their loved ones by getting vaccinated, be able to get back more and more to normal, get back more and more to regular life. For that, those who are hesitant: It's time to get your vaccine. They're safe, they're effective."

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