OOIDA calls on Canada and U.S. to lift truck driver vaccine mandates

The Owner-Operator Independent Truckers Association (OOIDA) is calling on Canada and the U.S. to lift vaccine mandates applied to border-crossing truck drivers. In Feb.

7 letters to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Joe Biden, association president Todd Spencer said the rules are "arbitrary" and do not reflect operating realities in trucking.

Several convoys and blockades have argued against border-related vaccine mandates among other pandemic-related restrictions. (File photo: John G.

Smith)

"Prior to January 2022, truckers were operating safely back and forth across the U.S-Canadian border to ensure North Americans had the food and supplies they needed without having to show proof of vaccination or disclosing any other aspects of their personal medical history," he said in the letters. "Since commercial drivers spend the majority of their time alone in their vehicle and outside, there is no evidence that truckers present a higher risk of spreading the virus." The association says its 150,000 North American members include 1,000 Canadian truck drivers.

Canada introduced its vaccine mandate Jan.

15, while the U.S. version of the rules were implemented Jan.

22. In the letter to Biden, Spencer also noted the U.S. Department of Labor acknowledged this fact when the Occupational Safety and Health Administration proposed a testing and vaccination standard for businesses with more than 100 employees.

It recognized that proposed standard would not apply to truck drivers who only encounter other people in outdoor environments.

"Many drivers have elected not to operate cross-border under the new rules, while others continue to experience excessive wait times at border entry points because of the new protocols," Spencer added.

Protests relating to the vaccine mandates and other pandemic-related restrictions have blocked traffic at crossings including the Ambassador Bridge in Ontario and the Alberta border crossing at Coutts.