The Trudeau Liberals have acknowledged that their COVID vaccine mandate for the transportation sector was overly “aggressive” in denying travel to nearly six million Canadians by air and train. According to a 2021 in-house memo obtained by the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, the mandate did not follow the recommendations of public health experts, despite claims made by the government.
The memo advised that exemptions to strict vaccine mandates should be kept simple to avoid complexity and costly administrative burdens for operators and travelers. However, the Department of Transportation insisted on acting “quickly and aggressively,” making Canada unique in the world in terms of strict vaccine mandates for domestic travel.
The memo also warned that unvaccinated Canadians and those who declined to show proof of vaccination would lead to cases of sympathetic or vulnerable Canadians being denied travel. Despite this, the Trudeau Liberals maintained that their approach was backed by science and the recommendations of public health experts.
However, the Public Health Agency of Canada never recommended vaccine mandates, as stated in the memo. It also highlighted that the vast majority of unvaccinated Canadians would not be able to travel under the mandate. This contradicts Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's claims that the government followed the recommendations of public health experts, doctors, and scientists.
An affidavit from Jennifer Little, Director General of COVID Recovery at Transport Canada, confirmed that neither Health Canada nor the Public Health Agency of Canada recommended a mandatory vaccination policy for travel. However, the mandate eventually became one of the strongest vaccination mandates for travelers in the world.
Dr. Lisa Waddell, a senior epidemiologist and knowledge synthesis team lead at the Public Health Agency of Canada, also admitted that her agency never made the recommendation for a vaccine mandate.
The Justice Centre challenged the mandates as unlawful, but it was dismissed by the Federal Court of Appeal in November 2022. The court deemed the case moot since the federal government suspended the mandate in June 2022. However, the law firm has since requested the Supreme Court of Canada to hear a final appeal, warning that the government can impose travel restrictions again without notice.
This story is still developing, and further updates may emerge in the future.
