PROTESTING VACCINE MANDATES IN CANADA: Trucker protest to Ottawa to pass through Medicine Hat. “Organizers say up to a thousand trucks will pass through Medicine Hat Monday morning. Truckers will be travelling to Ottawa saying they want to vocally protest Ottawa’s new vaccine rule. And support for Monday’s convoy is strong, say organizers. . . . As part of the new mandate, truck drivers must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or face a two week quarantine when crossing into Canada, however the trucking industry is facing challenges including supply chain disruptions and a driver shortage. The Canadian Trucking Alliance estimates the vaccine mandate could result in a loss of up to 16 thousand cross border drivers.”

Related: Elevators working in reverse as Alberta cattle feeders face increasingly desperate feed shortage. “Labour shortages, due to COVID-19 and more, have exacerbated the challenge in some situations, causing delays with loading and unloading trains and trucks. Several feedlots say delays in unloading trains have resulted in the railway putting a lower priority on these shipments. In some cases, they’ve been penalized financially with demurrage fees. There’s also concern the Canadian and U.S. government’s cross-border vaccination mandates, taking effect January 15 and 22, respectively, are removing a significant number of truck drivers from the road. Several sources told RealAgriculture they’ve also heard of a train being delayed due to crew members not wanting to have to quarantine in Canada.”