One of the biggest goods exported in the year 2019 was Canada, which is also marked as the US third-largest supplier of goods. The total estimated goods and services that came from Canada totaled $718.4 billion according to government figures.
And 70% of that trade is moved by using trucks.
Now, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is mandating to require COVID-19 vaccines for international truckers despite increasing pressure from critics who say it will exacerbate driver shortages and drive up the price of goods imported from the United States.
The mandate is the first policy measure taken since the pandemic began that could limit cross-border trucking traffic. Trucks crossed the border freely when the border was closed for 20 months because they were considered essential to keep supply chains flowing.
“We don’t anticipate significant disruptions or shortages for Canadians,” the source said.
Watch it here: WKBW TV/Youtube
Trudeau has championed a strict inoculation policy for civil servants and federally regulated workers, and the fast-spreading Omicron variant of the coronavirus appears to have strengthened his government’s resolve to stick with the policy.
Here’s a notice from the reader Trevor in Australia that you may look forward to:
You may be aware that various states in Australia (e.g. Queensland and Western Australia) have made vaccines mandatory for truck drivers. This has caused a supply chain crisis in Australia as supermarkets and shops are running out of goods. This photo was taken inside our local Coles supermarket today (10 January 2022).
This is what the US has to look forward to when the Biden administration bans truck drivers from going over the Canadian border.
Let’s Go Brandon!
“Everyone has been talking about inflation. And this is just going to continue to fuel that,” said Steve Bamford, chief executive of Bamford Produce, an importer and exporter of fresh fruit and vegetables based in Ontario.
The pandemic has caused to double the prices of goods coming from California and Arizona, this is due to the driver shortage, Bamford said. Fresh foods are sensitive to freight problems because they expire rapidly.
Supply chain disruptions drove Canada’s headline inflation rate to an 18-year high in November, and the Bank of Canada has signaled that it could hike it as soon as April.
“We’re going to see prices skyrocket for groceries, for everything, if we see tens of thousands of truckers unemployed,” Conservative Party leader Erin O’Toole said on Thursday, adding there could be “reasonable accommodations” like regular testing.
Sources: The Gateway Pundit, Produce Grower, Reuters, CTV News
