Two Canadian provincial leaders and 16 American state governors signed a letter on Wednesday calling on Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and American President Joe Biden to end Wuhan coronavirus vaccine mandates for cross-border truckers.
The letter – signed by Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, Idaho Governor Brad Little, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey and others – calls on the Canadian federal government and the U.S. federal government to end the vaccine mandates.
“We are writing to request that you immediately reinstate the vaccine and quarantine exemptions available to cross-border truck drivers. We understand the vital importance of vaccines in the fight against COVID-19 and continue to encourage eligible individuals to get vaccinated,” the letter states.
The signatories of the letter state that the vaccine mandates have “demonstrably negative impacts on the North American supply chain, cost of living, and access to essential products,” and added, “Transportation associations have informed us that the lack of exemptions will force thousands of drivers out of the trucking industry, which is already facing a significant workforce shortage.”
The letter makes no mention of the Freedom Convoy trucker blockades that took place along the Canadian border with the United States in Alberta, Manitoba, and Ontario in recent weeks, including the blocking of the Ambassador Bridge, the largest source of inter-border trade between Canada and the U.S.
Over the last week, all of the border blockades have ended, either due to police action, as was the case in Windsor, Ontario, or from Freedom Convoy blockaders leaving areas of their own accord.
The last blockade was lifted this week at the border in the Manitoba town of Emerson after protestors negotiated a deal with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) that included an agreement that none of the protestors at the border would be arrested or charged.
In Canada’s capital, Ottawa, protests have not ended and many Freedom Convoy truckers and allies remain encamped in the city’s downtown near the Canadian parliament.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act this week for the first time in Canadian history, giving his government sweeping new powers to end the protests, including the freezing of banks accounts of those who have supported the protestors and donated to fundraisers.
On Thursday, the Canadian Bankers Association reported that the RCMP had alerted banks as to a list of names associated with the Freedom Convoy protests and some have already claimed that their accounts have been frozen.
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