Those planning to board planes, cruise-ships or inter-provincial trains in the near future will need to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the mandatory vaccination requirement Friday (Aug. 13), just days before an anticipated snap-election call.
Proof of vaccine will be required near the end of October, Trudeau said in a joint-minister news conference.
“We need to regain public confidence in travel. Such confidence will give a boost to our industry,” Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said.
The vaccination requirement will extend to certain travellers. This includes all commercial air travellers, passengers on interprovincial trains, and passengers on large marine vessels with overnight accommodations, such as cruise ships.
— Omar Alghabra (@OmarAlghabra) August 13, 2021
Meanwhile, all federal government employees will need to be inoculated by early fall.
The latest vaccine requirements are part of a trend being taken by many big private sector businesses across North America. On Thursday, the B.C. government announced that long-term care workers would need to be fully vaccinated against the novel coronavirus by the fall.
READ MORE: B.C. mandates COVID-19 vaccination for all long-term care, assisted living workers
Roughly 72 per cent of eligible Canadians are fully vaccinated.
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