Key Takeaways:

• Despite eliminating a similar law in the United States, Canada declared on Tuesday that it would keep the mask requirement for public transportation.
• During a media interaction at a health-care event in Dalhousie, New Brunswick, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also addressed the issue.
• Many provinces have modified their controversial vaccine mandates, but Ottawa has decided to keep them.

Despite a comparable requirement being repealed in the United States, Canada announced on Tuesday that it would retain the mask mandate for public transit, including flights, for the foreseeable future.

Last week, policymakers in Washington agreed to extend the federal mask rule until May 3, but a US federal judge overturned that decision on Monday.

On the other hand, Canada will not follow suit, and the rule will continue to apply to passengers at airports, railway stations, and onboard planes, trains, and other forms of public transportation.

Transportation Minister Omar Alghabra declined to comment on the US court decision to reporters in Calgary on Tuesday but said that "masks are proving to provide additional layers of security" and that the "regulation is in place and is based on the advice we receive from our experts."

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also addressed the problem at a media interaction at a health-care event in Dalhousie, New Brunswick. "As we look to enter this new phase of the pandemic, which includes both the sixth wave of the second type of Omicron and a lifting of limitations in many regions around the country," Trudeau said.

The mandate will remain for international visitors to Canada, including those from India.

Although fully vaccinated travelers are exempt from quarantine, they must remain masked in indoor public spaces for two weeks after their arrival.

Even while such mandates have been lifted in numerous places, including provinces like Ontario, federal public health officials have endorsed the use of masks.

Many provinces have also softened the contentious vaccine mandates, but Ottawa has decided to keep them. As the Freedom Convoy overtook the capital city in February of this year, the Trudeau administration declared a state of emergency to crush anti-mandate protests. Civil rights organizations are still contesting that controversial move in court.