Trudeau Imposes Vaccination Requirement For All Canadian Flights As Of October 30

Trudeau Imposes Vaccination Requirement For All Canadian Flights As Of October 30

October 6, 2021 Bruce Parkinson

Effective October 30, passengers on domestic flights and rail trips within Canada will have to provide proof of vaccination.

The new rules mean all travellers ages 12 and older on flights leaving Canadian airports and people travelling on VIA Rail and Rocky Mountaineer trains must be fully vaccinated in order to board. Marine passengers on non-essential passenger vessels like cruise ships must also complete the vaccination series before travelling.

A “transition phase” will allow travellers to show a negative COVID-19 molecular test (PCR) result instead of proof of vaccination up until November 30.

To qualify as a “fully vaccinated traveller,” a person must have received a full series of a Health Canada-approved COVID-19 vaccine — a combination of approved shots is also acceptable — with the last dose having been administered at least 14 days prior to the day of travel.

During the press conference today, Trudeau said few exemptions would be made for medical or religious reasons. He indicated that exemptions would be “onerous” to obtain.

“Our message to unvaccinated travellers is clear: if you’re planning to travel, you need to book your vaccination appointment now,” a government official said.

It will be up to airlines and rail operators to “establish processes to verify vaccine status,” a government official said, adding they expect these companies to accept provincial vaccine passports as proof of status.

The government says a “pan-Canadian, secure, and standardized proof of vaccination for international travel” program is in the works and will be paid for by the federal government, but details have not yet been announced.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the official announcement this morning in Ottawa. The outline of the plan was announced in mid-August, just prior to the federal election call. A week ago, in his first major post-election press conference, Trudeau warned Canadians that travelling within our borders was about to change.