Trucking Risk and Insurance Podcast

Truck Drivers, Border Crossing, COVID Vaccines

January 07, 2022 John Farquhar & Chris Harris Season 2 Episode 14
Trucking Risk and Insurance Podcast
Truck Drivers, Border Crossing, COVID Vaccines
Show Notes Transcript

John and I are talking about the potential difficulties for essential truck drivers crossing the USA/Canada border. 

Starting in January 2022, the border agents are going to ask and demand to see your COVID Vaccine proof or Vaccine Passport. 
You need to use the ArriveCan to enter Canada, yes even truck drivers need to use the ArriveCan and the proof of vaccine for the COVID virus. 

Stay tuned, as this is what is happening at the time of posting this video. John and I will keep you up-to-date. 



John Farquhar
Summit Risk Solutions: summitrisksolutions.ca
1 226 802-2762
John@summitrisksolutions.ca
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-farquhar-9b88771a2/?originalSubdomain=ca

Chris Harris
Safety Dawg Inc: safetydawg.com
Chris@SafetyDawg.com
1 905 973 7056
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/3764255/admin/

Keeping it Safety Dawg Simple!
#trucksafety #truckinsurance #truckpodcast 

Hey, they're fans of the Trucking Risk and Insurance podcast. Thanks again for joining us today, Chris and I are gonna temper jab. We've done this before. As a matter of fact, we're going to Jimmer jab about the vaccination issues going on right now with cross border traffic. So essential drivers. This one's going to be for you guys, any trucking company out there that crosses the border. This one's going to be for you guys. So let's, let's have a little bit of fun while Chris and I deliver Jabber. Hi Chris, are you doing Good, Johnny? And by the way, great intro. But I just want to add this is for drivers or trucking companies. It doesn't matter which side of the border you're on because the requirements are, I don't know. Yeah. It's going to go federal wide, cross Canada. So, yep. So true. Well, yeah. So to get into the country to two kinds of topics to get into Canada and then to get into the states. Yep. Yep. As we record Joyce, this is before January the 15th, but John, what the heck so important about January the 15th? Well, that's the due date. That's the deadline date that Canada has put into play that says you need to be fully vaccinated and fully vaccinated means both shots and a 14 day period. So if you haven't got your second shot, you're already late. So you've gotta be fully vaccinated in order to come into Canada. Yeah. And that, and not only are you fully vaccinated, but you have to have proof common vaccination. Yes. And Canada happens to have their own app. The era ArriveCan app that you can utilize and load up your vaccination report as proof so that you can show the border guards when you come in what's ArriveCan app that I'm sure it can be found on a cell phone, but what is it? Why, why is that important? Well, what it does, I actually helped a friend here just a couple of weeks ago before Christmas. Cause he was going over into New York or New York to Niagara falls. He had to pick up some mail and he was allowed to go now that he was fully vaccinated, but he had to provide proof coming back into Canada. So he was first doing this. So I had a chance to actually witness and go through the process. And it is an application and it is a, I want to say a bit of a lengthy process because you have to import or upload all your information, your, your, your name, address, whatnot. And then you have to upload vaccination proof. So each of your documents that you have, or the one that has the barcode on it, that shows you are being vaccinated by these days and then by this document or not this time, this vaccine. Yup. And then once you have that all loaded up, then you would start to load in there when you're going to come back into Canada or from the U S when you're going to arrive at the border, what date, what time? And then that loads up into the system so that when you show up at the border, they ask you a couple of questions. Yep. And they'll have all this information before you arrive. So they'll tell you whether you get that come on in or turn it around, buddy. You're not eligible. Yeah. It's just, and I haven't had to do it yet. I, I know I'm prepared and I have uploaded my vaccination proof to the app because I hope to travel again one day. Good deal. Because I am not a cross-border truck driver, but the important date here is January the 15th. Well, of course cross-border drivers should already be familiar with the ArriveCan app because of what? Since November the 30th, I think it Was November 30th. It went into play. Yes. They had to use it. So that's one thing. But you now to get into the country, you got to have proof of double vacs. Correct. Wow. Yeah. And that comes into play January 15th. So yeah. So it's going to be an and people are gonna think, well, I'm a Canadian citizen. They're not going to stop me from coming in. Well, there is some concerns based on the reading of it. It does say Before you go there, cause I think I know where you're going. I don't know, but they are right. If they're a Canadian citizen, Canada will not stop them from coming in. Right. But yes, the big butt means you could be a finding yourself in quarantine for 14 days. Right. You know, and unfortunately those that are not permanent residents, maybe working on as a temporary foreign worker or on a work Visa, non-compete Jones Non-Canadian Are here legally. Yes. And working as a great truck driver. Yep. What could happen to them, John, if they're not a Canadian yet And not vaccinated, they could be held up at the border and not allowed in And not allowed it to write is want our listeners and viewers to hear that part. So if they're not a permanent resident yet, and they're not a Canadian, but they are here in Canada, legally and working legally Yup. Under a work visa or a valid work permit or, you know, under the foreign worker program. Yep. And they crossed the border. When they come back to Canada, you say they, your interpretation is They may not be allowed in. And I say strongly, when I say may, so I'm reading right off of the, the Canadian federal Canada website, which will be by the way in the show notes below. So you can read it to yourself, but it is making it very clear. And I will say, I will read this. Let me read this section for you. As of January 15th, 2020 to certain groups of travelers who are currently exempt from entry requirements currently will only be allowed to enter the country. If they are fully vaccinated with one of the vaccines approved for entry into Canada, these groups include, and it lists them. And the one down here that we're talking about individuals with a valid work permit, including temporary foreign workers outside of the agricultural and food processing. So that means you Truck Drivers and then most essential service providers in brackets, including Truck Drivers. So, so this means you guys, girls, gals, whatever may get hung up at the border if you're not fully vaccinated. So think before you go into the U S knowing that you've got to come back. Absolutely. So the keys here is double Vaxxed and the second vaccinate vaccine had to be injected more than 14 days ago. Correct. Before you cross the border. Yup. Yup, yup. Exactly. Kind of happen. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Yeah, exactly. So, so now let's go ahead and go ahead and drop the other shoe. I was going to fill in any other way, Going into the state. Yes, exactly. And I'll use this word. What's the rumored date? January 22nd, 2020. Why is it only a rumor? Do you have any idea? Well, it has not been confirmed based on some of the conversations coming out of the U S through a lot of the, the, the media outlets. This is what's come out of the government side, but there's been no firm date. It's all been subjected to say, ah, probably around the 22nd, maybe sooner, maybe later. Ah, but we're not a hundred percent sure. So, so right now it's a tentative date of the 22nd of January. And had mentioned to you earlier that I saw a trade magazine with an article saying that Truck Drivers had started to be asked upon entry to the states for their proof of vaccine. And it's at the time of this recording, that was, that article was written on January the third or January the fourth, I forget which day, but was Brand new. And some drivers at some border crossings going into the states have already started to be asked for that proof of vaccine. Yep, Exactly. So, so you need to be aware of drivers because of the simple fact that you get hung up at the border, going into the U S well, that's going to cause a lot of grief for the load that you've got on and not going to be able to get there. Your is then going to have to get another truck, another driver, wow. This is going to cause some chaos. There is no doubt about it. There's, it's going to cause some chaos. And you know, there's a debate as to whether it's legal for companies to ask their employees whether they are vaccinated or not. And you know, I'm far from a lawyer, but if having to be vaccinated to enter a country, either exit or enter, because when you come back, you gotta be double vaccinated. Yep. I would think that would throw that into the legal realm because as part of business, I've got to know if John Farquhar is double VAX, because if he's not, I can't give him the load, expecting him to go into the states and expecting him to come home and be able to work again. Yep, Exactly. And then on top of that, you know, if you didn't take and do this process, the driver could be putting the company at risk, you know, by being stuck at the border and having the, the truck and trailer seized for whatever reason, you know, and that's aggravation, they don't need Yeah. Th this whole thing. And we both know that CTA, OTA, ATA to truckload care, a Lot of those accurate. So the Ontario trucking association, the Canadian trucking Alliance, the American trucking association, truckload carriers association are. And then I read something about the auto parts association. There's probably that one wrong because I'd never heard of it before, but there's several major association. Lobby groups really is what these are lobbying both governments, Canada in the U S to put changes in for fear that this is going to be a huge, huge disruption to our economy that is trying desperately to recover at this time. Like, yeah, Well, you know, it's unfortunate because this information has been out there for several months now. Right. You know, this is going back to October, November. So it's been out there for several months. There's been plenty of time to go get vaccinated in order to comply with these regulatory issues, whether it be us or Canada. I know the, the lobbying groups are obviously wanting to, Hey, we want you to extend this, you know, carry this forward. I hate to say it, but I think it will be like the ELD went into play for the U S back in 2018. When yeah. We're going to give it some, some, some lag time here and, and very similar to what we're seeing in Canada with the ELD is, yeah, we're going to give it some time here. We're not going to put in some big enforcement and people are continuing to still drag their feet in getting that in place. So I would see the same thing happening with the vaccination, where if you still allow it to drag on, it's just going to drag it. If people are not going to go, because if they're bounded determined, they're not going to get vaccinated. Well, then they're not going to get vaccinated so Well, and, and this is, I mean, without getting into a philosophical debate, I mean, I know I've told you I'm VAX, but yeah. People have the right to choose whether, you know, they get vaccinated or not. I do believe that the right. Yup. Yup. Yup. And I mean, it's a real colon. Cool. Quagmire, That's a good word as It is. I mean, people do have the right and if they choose not to, however, I do see it from a country point of view, that countries also have rights. And if they choose not to allow you indoor country, for whatever reason, because you're a criminal. I mean, there's lots of other reasons that we don't allow certain people into the country. This is just another one. Right. But for Canadians who are here legally, I, and as I say, I'm a VAX guy, but I really have a hard time swallowing this up. We're ramming this down the everybody's throat. I do think people have personal rights. Yup. Yup. Well, but at the same time, like you said, governments have rights. They have to protect their citizens. So, so they have to put processes in place to protect their people. Unfortunately, if you don't want to follow through with something, well, then that's fine. That's your choice. But at the same time, you shouldn't be allowed all the luxuries of those that have followed through With the process. I mean, I'm very happy to be one of the 86% in Ontario have voluntarily gone and got it done. I do feel for that 14%. Yeah. Someone, I think some of them are, can I say full of Misinformed? Their thing is, they're just strictly the government's telling me to do it. Therefore, I'm not doing it to agree with that. I do agree with thoughtful concern if you were well-educated unfortunately, there's just a lot of stuff on the internet, you know, I choose to believe the stuff, and this is a choice I choose to believe this stuff that is pro-vaccine. And there are some people who choose to believe the stuff that is anti-vax we all have our rights anyway, so that's a way oh yeah, Exactly. Exactly. So, so Canada, January 15th, you coming back January 22nd, coming back into Canada, January 5th, And I better use the ArriveCan app, Correct? Right. Are we using it now? Should have been using it since January 20th or sorry, November 30th. Right. So, yup. And going into the states, it is Currently right now, tentatively set for January 22nd. That's the best guess Seven days after Canada. So it'll be interesting to see where it goes and we're not that far away, you know, like the Canadian rule right now of January 15th, we're a week and a half away. So it's really going to be interesting to see what comes down to the wire. Cause we haven't heard a whole lot in the news in the media section about fights going on with this there's I think there's more hype going on in the us with senators and states and, and lobby groups getting involved with what's going on in the U S to fight it, but not hearing so much here in Canada. So, you know, if it's quiet or whatnot, kind of curious what's happening there. Well, you forwarded forward. Did, did, did, did you sent me an email this morning from private motor truck council and it was outlining some of the, some of what we're talking about. Yup, Exactly. And that, that email was to them from the Canadian government to specify we're moving forward. There's nothing here. That's saying any different. So it was dated in January. Yes. Yes. That was just a as actually this morning. I think it was So, yeah. So I just wanted you to hit that, but yeah. As far as we know, the Canadian government is still saying yep. A week and a half away that this is still a goal. Yeah. Yup. Yup. So, you know, I guess, I guess from, from a contest let's, let's take it away from the vaccination aspect. Let's take it away, take it from a transportation ownership side. Right? So the trucking companies, themselves, trucking operators, trucking owners, I'm thinking in my mind, why wouldn't I want all my drivers vaccinated to cross the border because it gives me a leg up on the competition. This going to be a perfect opportunity to make hay while the sun is shining and the sun could shine for quite some time here. Well that, you know, don't you as a trucking company owner also have the obligation to have a safe workplace and having a safe workplace nowadays would be having everybody vaccinated. Because now if I'm vaccinated and I'm in the same room as you, you know, as an employer, my employer is protecting you because they made me get double bucks. Right? Yep, yep, exactly. Right to side. There are certainly a lot of obligation of, for the employers of Trucking. And honestly, you know, I hate to say this, but cause we've got a large American audience on our part, but Canada has uptaken or the uptake of the vaccine is significantly higher than chicken friends. And if I was a trucking company owner sending my drivers into the states where I know the uptake, isn't nearly as high. Yup. I encouraging my drivers to the best of my ability to get the vaccination, just to try to keep them safe. Yeah. They're and their families. Yeah, absolutely. So, yeah, but John, last word, I, I was just going to say, you know what, we've heard so many stories out there about people who have gotten sick of the, because of the vaccine or the, the virus they're not vaccinated. And they've told their story about what hell they went through to overcome this. So to me, it's like, let's listen to them. You know, let's listen to them. I don't want my family to go through that. I don't want to go through that. And because I drive truck, I know. Hmm. Hmm. Let me think here. Oh yeah. I don't get paid unless the wheels are rolling. So if I'm sick, flat on my back, I'm not making any money, you know? So we need to stay as healthy as we can all the time. Or if your quarantine for 14 days. Oh yes. Yeah. That too. Yeah. Your, your employer is not gonna look After you. Whatever the corn down period is. Yeah. Yeah. Well it's 14 days for, for un-vaccinated and it was 10 days for vaccinated and they've now just dropped that to five. Right. So if you're vaccinated again, another reason if you fall ill, if you're vaccinated, even the, the quarantine period is significantly less again. Exactly, exactly. Yep. So true. So true. So, but yeah. So do yourself a favor, go get vaccinated. I'm with you buddy. As I say, we're both double vacs. I've got my booster shot blocked. I'm on two waiting lists. Trying to get in a little bit. Yes. My wife has got one of us booked and she's waiting for her to open up again because the date that she can get hers is I'm away on a snowmobile trip. So we can't get it any sooner. So she's waiting to get on the next list for me for when I get back. So, so I'll probably get jabbed when I get back from sled. Yeah. Well hopefully you don't get sick. Yeah, Exactly. Good topic. Drivers, trucking company owners, transportation, people, shippers receivers. We covered getting in and out of the country without, and with the vaccination. It's going to be interesting times. Yeah. It's all gonna come down to whether you get poked or not. So go get poked. You'll get poked, go get poked. All right. So that of course was John and I having a little bit of fun, but talking about a very serious conversation that is happening in trucking right now, all about the vaccine mandate and entering and exiting Canada or cross border things that are going on. So stay tuned to the podcast, John, and I will keep you up to date. If you are getting value from this podcast, please click like and subscribe and leave us a comment. What are your thoughts on the vaccine and border crossings at the moment, either coming into Canada or leaving Canada, going into the states, what are your thoughts? Leave me a comment down below John, or I will answer you personally. Thanks so much. That's it for this week? Safety Dawg.