The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that the federal government is refusing to disclose how often the vaccination status of air travellers is being confirmed in what the Liberals billed as a broad vaccine mandate but which is so far only being enforced through random checks. The Globe's Marieke Walsh and Eric Atkins write that on Saturday, the first stage of the government's promised vaccine mandate for air travellers took effect, requiring all passengers to be either vaccinated or present a negative COVID-19 test. However, while passengers need to attest to being vaccinated, their actual vaccination status or test result is not always verified. "We made the decision to randomly check status for a short period in line with advice from the Public Health Agency of Canada. This also prevents further congestion in airports," said a Transport spokesperson. B.C. NDP MP and transport critic Taylor Bachrach said he took three flights to get home from Ottawa on Saturday without once being asked to prove he is vaccinated. Air Canada, WestJet and Porter Airlines declined to say how often they are verifying vaccination status, instead telling The Globe to ask the government; Air Transat did not provide a response.