Summary:
To protect the health and safety of Canadians during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government of Canada has taken a multi-layered approach to border management. As the pandemic situation has continued to evolve, adjustments to measures have been informed by the latest evidence, available data, operational considerations, and the epidemiological situation, both in Canada and internationally.
Between October 2021 and June 2022, on the recommendation and public health advice of Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), Transport Canada (TC) – working closely with PHAC and Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) – used its authorities under the Aeronautics Act, the Canada Shipping Act 2001, and the Railway Safety Act to implement the federal vaccine mandate in Canada’s domestic transportation sector.
By requiring vaccination from travellers and employees in the federally regulated transportation sector, the Government of Canada was able to reduce the risk of COVID-19, prevent future outbreaks, and protect the health of Canadians.
The federal vaccination mandate was suspended on June 20, 2022, while Canada’s remaining border entry restrictions (passenger testing, quarantine, and isolation requirements) were lifted on October 1, 2022.
On January 5, 2023, in response to the surge of COVID-19 in China and the limited epidemiological and viral genomic sequence data available, the Government of Canada announced time-limited pre-departure testing requirements for travellers entering Canada on flights from the People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong, or Macao to prevent further introduction and spread of COVID-19 into Canada. To support these measures, TC put in place an Interim Order with requirements for travellers boarding an aircraft to Canada from these regions. This Interim Order continues to be in effect.
To assess the prevalence of COVID-19 in these regions, PHAC, with the support of TC, initiated a project to sample wastewater from aircraft arriving from China or Hong Kong at Vancouver International Airport and Toronto Pearson International Airport. This project is well underway, with samples taken from airlines participating in the project at the two airports. The project is anticipated to run until the end of March 2023.
Overview:
Since March 2020, on the recommendation, guidance, and public health advice of PHAC, and working closely with the transportation industry, TC under its authorities, implemented a range of targeted and calibrated measures to ensure the safety, security, and resiliency of the transportation system.
Between October 2021 and June 2022, vaccine requirements in the transportation sector were critically important to, and successful in, delivering immediate protection from infection and severity of illness and in increasing up-take to provide broader societal protection.
Transport Canada Measures
TC introduced a number of domestic transportation measures to support federal, provincial, territorial, and local efforts to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 including, pre-departure health checks (March 28, 2020), non-medical masks or face coverings for passengers (April 17, 2020), and for workers and others involved in the transportation sector (June 3, 2020), and temperature checks (June 12, 2020).
On January 7, 2021 TC introduced COVID-19 testing requirements for all air travellers coming to Canada and pre-departure testing requirements. Effective February 4, 2021, TC announced a one-year ban intended to mitigate the risk posed by cruise vessels to Canadian healthcare systems, prohibiting these vessels from operating in Canadian waters until February 28, 2022.
On October 6, 2021, the Government of Canada announced that employers in the federally-regulated air, rail, and marine transportation sectors would be required to establish vaccination policies for their employees. These requirements came into effect on October 30, 2021, for employers in the federally regulated air and rail sectors - and on November 1 2021, for employers in the marine sector.
Also, effective October 30, 2021, TC required rail and marine travellers (on cruise ships) aged 12 or older to be fully vaccinated. Full implementation of this requirement took effect on November 30, 2021, following a 30-day transition period, during which testing was allowed as an alternative to vaccination.
The federal vaccine mandate allowed for very limited exemptions/exceptions to address specific situations such as national interest, emergency travel, and those unable to be vaccinated due to medical or religious reasons. Additionally, an alternative testing regime was established for travellers to and from remote locations at specified airports.
On January 15, 2022, the Governor in Council on the advice of the Minister of Health and PHAC imposed a vaccine requirement at the border, which applied to a majority of travellers, including truck drivers and other essential service providers, who had previously been exempt from most COVID-related entry requirements.
To support the Safe Restart of Cruise Ship Operations in Canada for 2022, vaccination requirements for crew and passengers on cruise ships (Canadian and foreign vessels) came into effect on March 31, 2022.
On June 20, 2022, TC suspended the vaccine mandate for domestic travellers, transportation workers and federal employees. The mandate for cruise ships on June 20, 2022 was adjusted to apply to only international voyages between countries. Remaining mandatory requirements for the cruise industry were converted into a recommended voluntary framework contained in a Ship Safety Bulletin with the end of the vaccine mandate in October.
Federal border entry restrictions under the authority of PHAC, including testing, quarantine, and isolation requirements for travellers were lifted on October 1, 2022.
Although the masking requirement was also lifted on October 1, 2022, travellers are still strongly recommended to wear high quality and well-fitted masks during their journeys.
The Government of Canada’s decision to suspend the mandatory vaccination requirement was informed by key indicators, including: the evolution of the virus; the epidemiologic situation and modelling (stabilization of infection and hospitalizations across the country); vaccine science; and high levels of vaccination in Canada against COVID-19.
Compliance Monitoring/Enforcement
To monitor compliance with the federal vaccine mandate, TC carried out remote and onsite compliance monitoring activities, and employed the use of graduated enforcement in the air, rail, and marine sectors.
Current Situation
In response to the increasing spread of COVID-19 in the People’s Republic of China and limited epidemiological and viral genomic sequence data available on these cases, on recommendation of the Minster of Health, the Government of Canada put in place temporary measures for travellers through the Minimizing the Risk of Exposure to COVID-19 in Canada Order under section 58 of the Quarantine Act, which came into force on January 5, 2023. TC’s Interim Order Respecting Certain Requirements for Civil Aviation Due to COVID-19 supports implementation of the measures under the PHAC Order, requiring pre-departure testing for passengers aged 2 or older travelling to Canada from China, Hong Kong, and Macao. Temporary measures under the PHAC Order in Council (82) have been extended until April 5, 2023. TC’s Interim Order must be issued every 14 days to remain valid.
Other countries, including the France, India, Israel, Italy, Malaysia, Spain, Taiwan, United Kingdom, and the U.S. have also decided to impose pre-departure or arrival tests on travellers entering their countries from China by air.
PHAC’s 10-week project on wastewater sampling from aircrafts at Vancouver and Toronto International Airports, which began on January 30, 2023, will evaluate the feasibility and value of conducting aircraft wastewater testing to identify variants of concerns emerging from high-risk regions. Results from the pilot will be compared to other wastewater testing approaches and help provide information on variants of concern that could impact the health of Canadians and inform public health response and action.
TC continues to support PHAC to address airline, airport authority, and airline council/association concerns on this project.
Canada has entered a pandemic transition phase. Canada's transportation sector is in a state of recovery and while significant efforts have been made to return all services to normal, operations are not back to 100% and are struggling to meet the growing demand for international and domestic travel. Vaccination continues to be a priority for the government as we work to ensure strong sector recovery.