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Canada Blocks Unvaccinated People from Boarding Airplanes and Trains

woman waiting for train

In August 2021, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he would implement a federal COVID-19 vaccine mandate for domestic and international air travelers, inter-provincial rail and cruise ship passengers.1

According to The Globe and Mail, Canada has one of the highest COVID vaccination rates in the world. At least 73 percent of people eligible for the vaccine have been fully vaccinated.2

Proof of Vaccination Required for Air, Train and Cruise Ship Travel in Canada

 Since November 30, 2021, travelers in Canada ages 12 years an older must show proof they are fully vaccinated to board flights, trains and cruise ships in Canada. The federal government introduced the vaccine requirement to with the goal of increasing COVID vaccination rates.3

The government of Canada’s website states:

If you don’t provide proof of vaccination (or valid COVID-19 test result if you have an exemption), you won’t be able to travel.4

There are some exceptions to the vaccine mandate. Unvaccinated foreigners in Canada were permitted to a board a flight departing the country until February 28, 2022. Some unvaccinated foreign nationals can still enter Canada via air travel, such as new permanent residents. Canadians returning to Canada are also exempt from the vaccine requirement but are required to comply with pre and post arrival COVID regulations.5

Kerri Froc, PhD, a constitutional law professor at the University of New Brunswick said:

You have the right to come into Canada if you’re a citizen because [the charter] is basically trying to not have a situation where someone is stateless. It’s a very fundamental human right.6

Dr. Froc also adds that the government can make it difficult for unvaccinated Canadians to enter Canada. Unvaccinated travelers face stricter entry requirements than vaccinated travelers, which include taking a COVID test upon arrival at the airport, self-isolating for 14 days and taking a second test while in quarantine.7

Some Doctors Want No COVID Vaccine Mandates for Travel

There are some medical professionals in Canada who are pointing out that vaccine mandates for travel need to be lifted due ethical and scientific reasons. Zain Chagla, MD, associate professor of medicine at McMaster University said:

Knowing that two doses of vaccines likely doesn’t prevent a lot of transmission, it really does start poking holes in the fact that this mandate is meant to [prevent] transmission.8

He added:

While lifting the mandate may seem unfair to those who were vaccinated, there are real equity issues with keeping it on the books. Many individuals may not be able to access essential life events, visit family or friends, or engage in employment opportunities, because of these regulations. While we may have beliefs around vaccination, denying an individual the ability to say goodbye at a funeral is not a part of our values as Canadians.9

Tamika McIntosh of Brampton, Ontario was not allowed to board a plane to fly to Jamaica to attend her grandfather’s funeral. She said:

You don’t get the closure when you don’t get to physically be there to say goodbye. Until I physically get to go to his gravesite and spend some time there, that void will always be open. I don’t think it’s fair. I don’t have mobility rights. I’m still stuck in a country and I can’t leave. I just feel like I have the right to choose.10


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7 Responses

  1. Canadian Prime Minister has gone extremely insane. He’s a very cold blooded person who lacks respect for medical freedom. Vaccine mandates are a BIG NO!!!! ?

  2. This story is more than a few months old. I see you have opinions by professors and medical people on our Charter but you
    failed to mention that our last surviving AUTHOR of our Canadian Constitution and Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Brian Peckford, has the totalitarian Trudeau Govn’t in court over this issue. Sadly, if I’m not mistaken, it will not be heard until September and by ZOOM of all things. Seems the courts might be bought and paid for.

  3. Yes, this is old but important information. The mandates are simply a form of coercion and punishment by a leader who uses hate speech to describe “the other” – the unvaccinated. There is no legitimacy to the medical apartheid. If his speech were directed to a racial minority or the LGBTQIA+ community he would be town to bits. But “do we tolerate these people” is ok to ask about the unvaccinated. It’s incendiary and provocative. Heart breaking. Michael C., Toronto

  4. I believe the reason this older story was published now is because it is only recently that Dr. Chagla wrote his opinion piece in the Globe and Mail. And — it is only recently that doctors are having the courage to speak out about how ridiculous these travel restrictions and mandates are as the vaccinated pass on Covid 19 as easily as the unvaccinated. Example — my double vaxxed husband brought Covid home to our entire family and my triple vaxxed daughter caught it as well!!! As a Canadian who cannot travel as I am not double vaxxed, I appreciate these doctors writing pieces in mainstream media. I think it is only a matter of time before the courts recognize the science does not support these unconstitutional restrictions upon our freeedom.

  5. Reply to Michael;
    Yes Michael, important information. I was not implying that it wasn’t important. I am one of those “unvaxed“ who cannot travel within or out of Canada by public transit.
    I was also trying to make the point that the opinions of a professor and a medical practitioner were chosen to be recorded as opposed to the opinion of our last surviving author of our Charter of Rights and Freedoms. I feel the story should have included the task that Brian Peckford has before him. Not to mention the Unique obstacles and dragged out timeline that the courts imposed on this very important legal action.

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