DEVELOPING Defence rests without Donald Trump taking the witness stand in his New York hush money trial
Donald Trump's lawyers rested their defence Tuesday without the former president taking the witness stand in his New York hush money trial.
The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) says that it plans to keep distributing COVID-19 rapid tests to provinces and territories until at least the end of the year, but is expected to reassess the situation and hold a "strategic reserve" for the future.
"As we approach the next phase of our COVID-19 response, we will continue to support provinces and territories by providing rapid tests until at least December 2022," PHAC said in an emailed statement to CTV News.
The plan will be re-assessed before the end of the year, after monitoring changes in the spread of COVID-19, with the possibility of that rapid test distribution could continue, PHAC said.
The agency said the federal government will maintain a strategic reserve of 100 million rapid tests "as part of the overall national preparedness strategy," with 50 million set aside for provinces and territories, and the remaining half for general surge requirements.
The federal government has been giving free rapid testing kits to provinces and territories since October 2020, although across the country, provinces have taken a number of different approaches when it comes to the rollout of rapid antigen tests.
At-home rapid antigen tests became a crucial tool in the most recent months of the pandemic, which has been driven by the more transmissible Omicron variant and because fewer people are now eligible for PCR testing.
PHAC says that the Government of Canada will continue to take orders for rapid tests for direct distribution to organizations of 200 or more employees until July 29.
Pharmacy partners will be allowed to send orders until Sept. 30, for their distribution to small and medium-sized businesses.
The general rollout of COVID-19 rapid tests from the federal government has been considered a failure, with nearly two in five Canadians, saying they have experienced difficulties in trying to obtain a COVID-19 rapid test, according to an April Statistics Canada survey.
PHAC says that as of May 18, it has distributed more than 369 million rapid tests to provinces and territories this year.
Donald Trump's lawyers rested their defence Tuesday without the former president taking the witness stand in his New York hush money trial.
One passenger was killed and 30 injured after a Singapore Airlines SIAL.SI flight from London hit severe turbulence en route on Tuesday, forcing it to make an emergency landing in Bangkok, officials and the airline said.
Anything is possible this week, as far as Canada's weather is concerned, with forecasts ranging from scorching heat in some parts of the country to rain and snow in others.
Canada's annual inflation rate slowed to a three-year low of 2.7 per cent in April, matching expectations, and core measures continued to ease, data showed on Tuesday, likely boosting chances of a June interest rate cut.
Riley Keough, the granddaughter of Elvis Presley, is fighting plans to publicly auction his Graceland estate in Memphis after a company tried to sell the property based on claims that a loan using the king of rock ’n’ roll's former home as collateral was not repaid.
Donald Trump's reelection campaign called 'The Apprentice,' a film about the former U.S. president in the 1980s, 'pure fiction' and vowed legal action following its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. But director Ali Abbasi is offering to privately screen the film for Trump.
Nestle NESN.S will market a new, US$5 line of frozen pizzas and protein-enriched pastas in the United States which it says it designed specifically for people taking drugs such as Wegovy or Ozempic for weight loss.
If you've been to a party lately and haven't seen someone drinking a BORG, you're likely not partying with college students.
As the month-long boycott of Loblaw-owned stores wears on, small independent food retailers and alternative grocery options say they're seeing a boost in traffic and sales.
For those who go to their local libraries often, they know there’s much more to their library than just borrowing books. Local libraries in Atlantic Canada are now renting out a broader range of items for people.
Flashes of purple darting across the sky mixed with the serenading sound of songs will be noticed more with spring in full force in Manitoba.
Catching 'em all with impressive speed, a 7-year-old boy from Windsor, Ont. who only started his competitive Pokémon journey seven months ago has already levelled up to compete at a world championship level.
A sanctuary dedicated to animals with disabilities is celebrating the third birthday of one of its most popular residents.
2b Theatre recently moved into the old Video Difference building, seeking to transform it into an artistic hub, meeting space, and temporary housing unit for visiting performers in Halifax.
A B.C. woman says her service dog pulled her from a lake moments before she had a seizure, saving her life.
A Starbucks fan — whose name is Winter — is visiting Canada on a purposeful journey that began with a random idea at one of the coffee chain's stores in Texas.
Members of Piapot First Nation, students from the University of Winnipeg and various other professionals are learning new techniques that will hopefully be used for ground searches of potential unmarked grave sites in the future.
ALS patient Mathew Brown said he’s hopeful for future ALS patients after news this week of research at Western University of a potential cure for ALS.