O'Toole slams government over COVID-19 testing after waiting hours at Ottawa site

Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole denounced the current state of COVID-19 testing in Canada after his family waited hours at an Ottawa site Wednesday only to be turned away because of capacity issues.

O'Toole, his wife and their two children weretested this morning at a site in Gatineau, Que., whichoffers priority testing for MPs and their families.

The new Conservative leader is in self-isolation after being exposedto the virus; one of his staff members has tested positive for COVID-19. O'Toole had been travelling with this person in Quebec over the weekend and on Monday.

"While waiting in the COVID-19 testing line up, I was struck by how many families were waiting just like ours," O'Toole said of the unnamed Ottawa testing centre. "Children are being sent home from school to get tested, and it is hard for moms and dads to keep them calm."

The four testingsites in the city of Ottawa havebeen afflictedby hours-long waits over the last number of days as parents have scrambled to get theirschool-agechildren tested.

"The Trudeau Liberals have created this mess by refusing to approve other testing methods despite all our allies having, for months, multiple tests including much faster and less invasive methods," O'Toole said.

While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved two antigen testing devices in May and July respectively tests that can deliver results in less than 15 minutes Health Canada regulators have not yet approved suchproducts for use in this country.

Experts say this sort of rapid testing which is used primarilyon asymptomatic people and deployed at retailers like pharmacies would take some of the pressure offthe testing centres. Thosesites could then be reservedfor those experiencing symptoms, or those who have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.

Health Minister Patty Hajdu said Wednesday that Health Canada is not yet satisfied with any of the options it has been reviewing for rapid COVID-19 testing devices and they will not be deployed across the country until regulators are sure they'llmeet a certain standard.

Hajdudismissed U.S. approvals for such devices Quidel Corporation's Sofia 2 SARS device andBecton Dickinson's Veritor System for Rapid Detection of SARS-CoV-2 and said the regulators have real concerns about the accuracy of the testing despite assurances from the companies about their efficacy.

Both companies behind these devices and a third, Korean-based SD Biosensor, Inc., have applied for Health Canada approvals.

As of Thursday, all are listed as "under review."

"We will not at Health Canada approve a test that, in any way, endangers Canadians' health and I will say tests that don't have a degree of accuracy to the satisfaction of the regulators can actually create further harms in communities," Hajdu said.

Quidelclaims its test has a 96.7 per centsensitivity ratewithin five days of the onset of symptoms.

O'Toole said the regulatory delays have caused undue hardship for Canadians because while the current lab-based testing model the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) process is very accurate, itcantake much longerto process.

"I stand with the thousands of Canadian families who are waiting in lines today for tests. It has been seven months. Justin Trudeau must answer for why we do not have access to more of the tests our allies are using," O'Toole said.

Michelle RempelGarner, the Conservative Party's health critic, said Canada has been "outpaced" by other countries on the testing front and Prime Minister Trudeau needs to explain the lack ofprogresson approving new devices.

"Testing is the key to protecting both lives and jobs, and on this front Canadians are paying the cost of Trudeau's failures," she said in a media statement.

"Trudeau needs to do his job, get off his rear, spur Health Canada bureaucrats to overcome the inertia of bureaucracy and immediately work to find a safe solution. Enough is enough."

Dr. Andrew Morris, a professor at the University of Toronto and an expert ininfectious diseases, said Health Canada hasn't been transparent with Canadians about why these alternative testing devices have been in a regulatory holding pattern for months.

"I think that would actually be quite useful for everyone to understand what kind of sensitivity or specificity or what kind of predictive values are theyexpecting from these tests. At the moment, we don't really know and thatmakes it very difficult for usto understand what Health Canada is expecting from these tests," he toldCBC News.

He said thatwithout access to more testing options, lines could grow evenlongerand results could take days to produce.

He said both levels of government should have anticipated a crush of people looking for test results with the return to school and childcare after a months-long pause.

"I think we are behind. It is a bit of a shame, to be honest, we're not further ahead," he said."I'm hopeful that we'll hear some announcement in the next few weeks. I'm definitely looking forwardto those tests.I would have liked to have seen those ready to roll by Labour Day. But, unfortunately, we don't have that right now and this is harming us."

"Itwas quite easy to anticipate that we would have a shortage of testing capability. Soit is very unfortunate that we are in this situation right now."

In a statement, Hajdu said the government is committed to helping theprovinces and territories build their testing capacity to avoid thedelaysO'Toole and his family experienced.

"We have been helping provinces and territories to respond to COVID-19 since the beginning. We know fast and accurate testing is key to keeping COVID-19 under control.

"The $19 billionwe have given to provinces is to help them keep up with testing demand as we go back to school and work," she said, referring to the $19 billion the federal government has set aside as part of its "safe restart agreement."

Watch: Parents and kids face hours-long lines atCOVID-19 testing centres

COVID-19 tests required for school, daycare contribute to long lines

4 years ago

Duration 1:47

Some parents and children in the hours-long lines at some Ottawa COVID-19 testing stations say they're forced to get their child tested for school or daycare while others are concerned about their child's health. Theres also frustration about repeated testing every time a child has the sniffles.