The chair of one of Canada’s largest farmers’ groups has confirmed to Parliament that the Trudeau government’s vaccine mandate for cross-border truck drivers is raising the cost of fruit and vegetables.
Chair of the Trade and Marketing Working Group at the Canadian Horticultural Council (CHC) Quinton Woods told parliamentarians at the Commons agriculture committee on Feb. 28 that the border restrictions on unvaccinated truckers further reduced the supply of available drivers.
He said this had compounded the supply chain problems fruit and vegetable growers already faced, forcing them to pass on the burden to consumers.
“One of the most important challenges—and very timely, based on recent events—is the availability of trucks and truck drivers. These shortages were there before the COVID-19 pandemic, but the introduction of the new border measures further reduced the supply of available truck drivers to haul our goods across international borders,” said Woods.
“It is important to note that the costs associated with these disruptions cannot be fully borne by growers like me, and that, wherever possible, we will need to pass these on to consumers. Sadly, these increases, which are being felt by the end consumer, are likely to escalate and most affect those who can least afford it.”
In January the Liberals flip-flopped on a prior repeal of the trucker vaccine mandate throwing the transportation into disarray. An estimated 26,000 unvaccinated truck drivers were taken off international routes as a result of the decision.
Despite warnings by industry leaders that the mandate would impact the cost of goods and lead to shortages, the Liberal government held firm on the mandate, which sparked the nation-wide Freedom Convoy movement.
Woods also told the committee that the skyrocketing price of fuel and fertilizer are also contributing to higher costs of produce.
“One of the biggest cost increases we’ve seen this year is actually the cost of fertilizer, with some growers facing increases as high as 53%,” said Woods.
In the last month alone, Saskatoon-based Nutrien Ltd. saw a 24% increase in stock price, while the cost of grain reached a 14-year-record of $10 per bushel. Although in part driven by economic sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, the price of fertilizer was already at crisis levels prior to the invasion.
