Ottawa won’t increase Manitoba’s share of rapid COVID tests now, health minister says
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 07/01/2022 (1380 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
OTTAWA — Manitoba shouldn’t expect a greater share of COVID-19 rapid tests from Ottawa to account for the province requesting fewer kits than its peers last year, the federal health minister said Friday.
“We’re focusing on the current needs — and the current needs will be addressed on a per capita allocation formula,” Jean-Yves Duclos said on Parliament Hill, in response to questions from the Free Press.
This week, the Free Press revealed Ottawa sent Saskatchewan more than double the number of rapid tests Manitoba had received last year, because the less-populated province had asked for more as part of its plan to widely distribute these tests to the public.
In 2021, Health Canada sent Saskatchewan a total of 13.5 million rapid tests, while Manitoba received between 5.1 and 5.7 million (based on conflicting information from Ottawa and the provincial government).
The knock-on effect has been symptomatic Winnipeggers waiting in lines for hours to pick up a rapid test.
In late November, Manitoba started to make larger requests of Ottawa, at which point there were global supply-chain issues.
Dan Vandal, the sole Manitoban in the federal cabinet, said this week his Liberal government ought to adjust the per capita shipments to make up for large disparities in how many tests each province got from Ottawa when it was distributing tests based on demand.
But Duclos suggested Friday that’s a non-starter.
“As of Jan. 1, our allocation formula is now a per capita formula, so that we can make sure… everyone in Canada has access to the same number of tests, and that there are no equity issues in terms of interprovincial considerations.”
Over the holiday season, few were able to follow a recommendation from Doctors Manitoba for people to use rapid tests as an extra layer of protection ahead of gatherings, along with masking and distancing. Manitoba officials, however, have bucked the trend by urging people to not use these kits for one-time events, as they can give a false sense of security.
Winnipeg stores have been selling rapid tests for up to $40 apiece, while Manitoba paused a program to supply businesses with these kits after allegations of misuse. Grace Hospital curtailed access to rapid tests last month, telling staff they were being stolen at an alarming rate.
dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca