Written by Maury Wrubleski

Starting October 25, SGI will require proof of full vaccination or a recent negative COVID-19 test for anyone who wishes to take a road test for their driver’s licence.  The Crown insurer made the announcement on October 7.

“Providing proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test is now standard practice to access many businesses, services, and venues,” said Penny McCune, Chief Operating Officer for the Auto Fund. “This will improve safety for our customers and employees.”   

According to numbers recently published by the Saskatchewan Health Authority, young people are over-represented among those who are unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated. Over the past 12 months, half of those taking an SGI road test were aged 19 or under, and 38 percent were between the ages of 20 and 30.   

Unlike other customer-facing services SGI offers, customers and driver examiners participating in a road test are in close quarters in an enclosed air space within a vehicle. This new requirement helps further reduce the risk of COVID transmission, on top of SGI’s existing safe work procedures, says SGI Media Relations Manager Tyler McMurchy. 

“We want to make sure that our customers are safe and our employees are safe,” explained McMurchy, “That’s really what’s motivating this requirement to have anybody who is taking a road test, as of October 25, to provide proof of full vaccination or a recent negative COVID test result.”

McMurchy went on to say that driver testing has continued, for the most part, throughout the pandemic with some necessary modifications due to health orders at the time. 

“At one point driver testing stopped entirely and then was brought back in stages for certain groups of drivers. We were using an innovative trail vehicle method that had the examiner in a different vehicle. Our capacity was reduced because there were additional steps like installing camera equipment and reviewing the footage.” 

The decision by SGI to proceed with the vaccination or negative test proof allows the agency to continue to provide for testing to meet its current demands without further interruption or adaptation. 

In accordance with provincial government direction, SGI employees are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or provide proof of a recent negative test.   

For more information, visit www.sgi.sk.ca/covid-19.