Federal government to require vaccinations for all federal public servants, air and train passengers
‘We need to reach as many Canadians as we possibly can’ — Transport Minister Omar Alghabra
John Paul Tasker · CBC News · Posted: Aug 13, 2021 12:28 PM ET | Last Updated: 3 hours ago
Transport Minister Omar Alghabra announced today that the federal government will soon require that all public servants be vaccinated — a mandate that he said will also be implemented by Crown corporations and other federally regulated businesses in the coming weeks.
While Canada’s vaccination rate is among the highest in the world — 81 per cent of all eligible Canadians have had at least one dose — Alghabra said the country “must do better.”
“We need to reach as many Canadians as we possibly can,” he said.
After a blitz in April and May, the number of new first doses being administered daily has been stuck at well under 100,000 since mid-June.
There are still more than 5.7 million people over the age of 12 who have chosen to forgo a shot altogether, or to wait for a later date. The number of unvaccinated Canadians is roughly equivalent to everyone living in the Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton metropolitan areas combined.
Starting as soon as next month, the vaccine will be made mandatory for federal employees and those working in some federally regulated industries (airlines and railways, among others) in an effort to boost stalled vaccination rates.
The government says it also “expects” that other employers in federally regulated sectors— like banking, broadcasting and telecommunication — will require vaccination for their employees. “The government will work with these employers to ensure this result,” the government said in a statementannouncing the new mandate.
To continue reading, please click this link.