ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Skip to main content

Liberals introduce new bill to authorize purchase of up to $2.5B worth of rapid tests

Share

The Liberal government has introduced a new bill to respond to COVID-19 rapid test needs across the country.

Bill C-10, an act respecting certain measures related to COVID-19, would give Health Canada the authority to purchase and distribute up to $2.5 billion worth of rapid tests across the country.

“As COVID-19 remains a global threat, driven by the highly transmissible Omicron variant, the demand for rapid tests has increased worldwide,†reads a statement from Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos.

“This bill will allow Health Canada to buy the necessary rapid tests so that jurisdictions across the country can identify cases early, break the chain of transmissions, and reduce outbreaks.â€

Duclos tabled the bill in the House of Commons on Monday, MPs first day back to work following winter recess.

The Liberals earmarked $1.7 billion to secure rapid antigen testing supplies in their December fiscal and economic update.

To expedite parliamentary approval of that funding, Government House Leader Mark Holland explained on Monday that the government has extracted that specific pledge from the broader economic and fiscal update bill to get the process moving.

Earlier this month, the government announced that 140 million rapid additional rapid tests would be delivered to the provinces and territories by the end of January. They were to be divided up on a per-capita basis.

That shipment was on top of a fulfilled request of 35 million rapid tests in December.

Some provinces and territories have complained that shipments have been slow to arrive as demand increased during the recent surge of COVID-19 cases across the country.

With a file from CTV News’ Rachel Aiello

IN DEPTH

Opinion

opinion

opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster

A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?

opinion

opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike

When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.

CTVNews.ca ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

The province's public security minister said he was "shocked" Thursday amid reports that a body believed to be that of a 14-year-old boy was found this week near a Hells Angels hideout near Quebec City.

B.C.'s police watchdog is investigating the death of a woman who was shot by the RCMP after allegedly barricading herself in a room with a toddler early Thursday morning.

Local Spotlight

They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.

David Krumholtz, known for roles like Bernard the Elf in The Santa Clause and physicist Isidor Rabi in Oppenheimer, has spent the latter part of his summer filming horror flick Altar in Winnipeg. He says Winnipeg is the most movie-savvy town he's ever been in.

Edmontonians can count themselves lucky to ever see one tiger salamander, let alone the thousands one local woman says recently descended on her childhood home.

A daytrip to the backcountry turned into a frightening experience for a Vancouver couple this weekend.

Stay Connected