The federal government predicted there would be a backlash to its “strict” COVID-19 vaccine mandate as “sympathetic/vulnerable” Canadians would be denied travel, an internal document shows.
A briefing delivered to Transport Minister Omar Alghabra on Oct. 2, 2021, laid out the main aspects of the travel vaccine mandate policy that would come into force on Oct. 30.
The mandate was so stringent, while allowing few exceptions, that Transport Canada policymakers said it would “make Canada unique in the world in terms of strict vaccine mandate for domestic travel.”
The mandate would be “slightly stronger than France and Italy, which allow a general alternative of a PCR or antigen test,” the briefing said, noting that such rigorousness would create a “very strong impetus to drive vaccination.”…