Health Canada ignored critical warnings about a rapid-test supplier before approving its COVID-19 kits for distribution nationwide, Global News has found. A year-long Global News investigation into federal procurement revealed that BTNX, a Toronto-area rapid-test supplier that buys the devices from China, deleted dozens of specimens, or samples, from a study it submitted to Health … Read more
With holiday gatherings around the corner and a growing controversy over the importer of millions of COVID-19 rapid tests, Canadians may have questions about how to properly test for the virus at home. A Global News investigation found the Toronto-area rapid test importer BTNX landed an estimated $2 billion in federal contracts in 2021 and … Read more
Global News’ investigation into federal pandemic contracts began with a call in summer 2022 to a reporter from an executive working in the rapid test sector. Officials’ choices of suppliers seemed inexplicable, he said. Why didn’t they hire more Canadian manufacturers? Few people outside the industry knew that almost all of the $5 billion the … Read more
Canada needs to learn from the lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says amid controversy surrounding government rapid test purchases. Trudeau faced questions stemming from a Global News investigation that found a rapid test importer landed an estimated $2 billion in federal contracts in 2021 and 2022, despite giving regulators incomplete data … Read more
A rapid test importer landed an estimated $2 billion in federal contracts in 2021 and 2022, despite giving regulators incomplete data about its product’s accuracy, Global News has found. A year-long investigation into federal procurement revealed that BTNX, a small rapid test supplier based outside Toronto, deleted dozens of specimens, or samples, from a study … Read more
