Scott Moe was critical of the Canadian government’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate on cross-border truckers during a provincial COVID-19 update on Monday from Regina.
The premier of Saskatchewan provided comments on the subject after he was asked by a reporter if he is supportive of a trucker convoy travelling from B.C. to Ottawa as part of a nationwide protest.
Moe called the vaccine mandate on the trucking industry “unnecessary.”
“This is an essential service. These are the folks that are delivering our products and our food to our communities in Saskatchewan and in Canada, and they have operated safely throughout this pandemic long before we had access to vaccines and the many tools we have in the battle against the Omicron wave,” stated Moe.
The premier also suggested that the vast majority of truckers have already been vaccinated against the virus.
He pointed to the province’s agreement last year with North Dakota in which the state offered vaccines at a number of border checkpoints to Canadian truckers returning to Saskatchewan.
“It’s an unnecessary policy and it’s one that is going to have potentially significant impacts on us accessing essential services, including food, which we need in our communities.”
Moe’s comments come as hundreds of trucks are passing through the province on Monday opposing the federal government’s vaccine mandate.
As of Jan. 15, all Canadian truckers wanting to cross the border from the United States need to be vaccinated in order to avoid a 14-day quarantine, according to the Liberal government.
Regina police shared that the convoy is expected to take the Regina Bypass on Monday night as they pass through on their way to the nations’ capital.