The Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) supports electronic methods to present and store proof of vaccination documentation at the border, but believes that alternative compliance options need to be made available on an interim basis to ensure that fully vaccinated truck drivers can avoid significant disruptions and border delays when the vaccination mandate for cross-border truck drivers takes effect on January 15 and beyond.
CTA continues to work with the Government of Canada to educate members about the use of ArriveCAN – the official platform for storing and presenting proof of vaccination; and while many truck drivers have learned to use the application in recent months, CTA believes alternative proof-of-compliance platforms are needed in the short term to mitigate border disruptions.
CTA is scheduled to learn more about the enforcement of the Canadian border mandate later this week but has yet to receive any details regarding the enforcement of the US border mandate reportedly coming into effect on January 22.
CTA had previously asked both Washington and Ottawa to work with supply chain members to select an agreed upon compliance date for a mandatory cross-border vaccine policy. CTA has maintained a position that the timing of the mandate should be reviewed and applied to the cross-border trucking industry when the supply chain is in a less fragile state.
CTA will continue to support the Government of Canada in its pursuit to increase vaccine uptake in our industry and amongst Canadians. It is also important for the public to understand that vaccination rates amongst drivers working for many CTA members are well above the national average, while other fleets exhibit rates which are more reflective of regional averages. Based on surveys done by the Alliance, and national vaccination averages, CTA believes this will result in a 10-15% exit rate of the 120,000 truck drivers currently crossing the border.
If submitting ArriveCAN data remains a long-term border crossing requirement for truck drivers, CTA believes the ability to integrate proof of vaccination through the submission of Advanced Commercial Information (ACI), and/or linked to the Free and Secure Trade (FAST) program, will further increase compliance, facilitate the seamless movement of legitimate trade and people across the border, and ease the burden on both government and industry.
CTA will also be encouraging the Government of Canada to continue to work with fleet management providers to ensure any future updates/advancements to the ArriveCAN platform are compatible with the fleet management systems which are used by a significant percentage of fleets crossing the border.
CTA will be discussing potential interim compliance options, and how long these options could be put in place with Government of Canada officials as soon as possible.
