Canadians who are not vaccinated against COVID-19 will soon be able to fly again, at least for now.
The federal government announced Tuesday afternoon that the requirement for air and rail travellers to be fully vaccinated against the virus is suspended effective Monday, June 20. The relaxed rule applies to all domestic air and rail travel, as well as for Canadians who travel abroad by air.
Federal Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra said the change was made possible by the continued decline in the number of COVID-19 cases across the country.
"We’ve seen our measures have slowed down several COVID peaks and given our healthcare system early warnings to adjust and respond as the COVID situation evolves," said Alghabra, via The Globe and Mail. "As we learn more about this virus, we have been adjusting our measures. Many of these measures have been lifted. And it’s clear that the COVID situation is not the same now as it was last fall when we implemented the vaccine mandate."
The change comes days after the federal government decided to suspend the practice of random COVID-19 testing for vaccinated travellers.
The government reserves the right to reinstate the policy should COVID-19 cases rebound.
While passengers will not need to be vaccinated, masking will still be required on aircraft, trains, and cruise ships. Cruise ship passengers are still subject to the vaccination requirement due to what was described as the "unique nature" of sea travel.
Ottawa also announced Tuesday that the vaccination requirement is lifted for employees in the federally-regulated transportation sector, as well as for federal employees.
The paper reported last week that many MPs were in favour of lifting the mandates, believing there was no scientific reason to keep them. The transportation and tourism industries had also been pushing for them to end, arguing that with air travel bouncing back, the mandates have contributed to airport staff shortages, upsetting passengers.