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Trudeau slams ‘fear mongering’ over COVID vaccine mandate for truckers

STEVE SCHERER

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday accused conservative politicians of stoking fear that COVID19 vaccine mandates for cross-border truck drivers are exacerbating supply chain disruptions and fueling inflation.

The United States imposed a mandate, meant to aid the fight against the fast spreading Omicron variant of the coronavirus, on Jan. 22, while Canada’s started on Jan. 15. The trucking industry has warned the measure will take thousands of drivers off the roads during what is already a dire labor shortage in the industry.

Alberta’s conservative provincial leader, Jason Kenney, called for a pause of the mandate last week, and on Monday posted pictures on Twitter of empty shelves in supermarkets, calling for “immediate action” by both the U.S. and Canadian federal governments.

“This is turning into a crisis,” Kenney wrote.

“I regret that the Conservative Party and conservative politicians are fear mongering to Canadians about the supply chain, but the reality is that vaccination is how we’re going to get through this,” Trudeau told reporters when asked about supply chain disruptions resulting from the policy.

Pierre Poilievre, finance critic for the main federal opposition Conservative Party, last week called the requirements a “vaccine vendetta against our hardworking truckers” that will drive up inflation and result in “empty shelves” at stores.

Trudeau has resisted industry pressure to delay the mandate, saying everyone should be vaccinated and Canada is aligned with the United States, its largest trading partner. More than two-thirds of the C$650 billion in goods traded annually between Canada and the United States travels on roads.

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2022-01-25T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-01-25T08:00:00.0000000Z

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