RVDA of Canada and Canadian RV Association voice concerns to Transport Canada on timing of vaccination mandate for US Truckers

 

For immediate Release -Burlington, Ontario January 13th, 2022

The Recreation Vehicle Dealers Association of Canada (“RVDA”) and the Canadian Recreational Vehicle Association (“CRVA”) joined together to express their concerns with Transport Canada regarding the pending implementation of mandatory vaccination for truckers entering Canada, which is to take effect on January 15th, 2022.

In total, the Canadian RV sector directly and indirectly supported an estimated 67,200 jobs and delivered $4.8 billion in added economic value to the Canadian economy from an initial expenditure of $6.2 billion according to a report conducted in 2019. The study revealed that approximately 2.1 million (or 14% of) Canadian households own an RV.RVDA of Canada and the CRVA are estimating that Wholesale Shipments from RV Manufacturers to Canadian Dealers will surpass 55,000 units in 2021.

However, with over 95% of the RV producers located in the United States, the respective Associations expressed to the Federal Government that the RV Industry is vulnerable to border issues including the availability of US delivery companies and their drivers being able to enter Canada in order to maintain our supply chain.

“We fully support vaccination and agree that vaccination mandates are a critical tool in our battle against COVID. However, given current vaccination rates amongst truckers, especially in the Northern Indiana region where a high percentage of RV Manufacturers are located, we are concerned that the January 15th Canadian deadline for mandatory cross-border vaccination will significantly impede our industry at a time when our industry is already facing a shortage of drivers willing to transport RVs to Canadian dealers.” said Shane Devenish, President of CRVA.

“We fear the mandate will lead to a lack of inventory for our retailers during their historical re-stocking period and/or price increases to our consumers. We hereby call on the government to delay the deadline for mandatory full vaccination until a later date to allow us to work with our suppliers so that we can minimize the supply chain disruption” added RVDA of Canada’s President Eleonore Hamm.

For Media Enquiries: RVDA of Canada – Eleonore Hamm – eleonore_hamm@rvda.ca or Canadian RV Association (CRVA) – shane.devenish@crva.ca