The federal government is "lining up advance deals" to buy rapid tests for COVID-19 so as soon as the technology is approved for use in Canada, it can be put to work, says Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland.

Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson says he plans to move quickly this fall to set legislated targets to cut Canada's greenhouse gas emissions that go even further than what has already been promised.

Electric car advocates are pushing Ottawa to put more money into its zero-emission vehicle rebate program, as the popular program is on track to run out of cash more than a year ahead of schedule.

Only a small fraction of the 40,000 new ventilators Canada ordered for hospitals last spring have already been delivered but several companies involved say their production lines will start delivering the products faster in the next few weeks.

Canada will not cut corners to get a vaccine candidate for COVID-19 approved, the country's chief public health officer said on Tuesday, August 11, 2020.

Canada's top public health doctors warned on Tuesday, August 4, 2020, that vaccines in development for COVID-19 provide hope but will not mean an immediate end to the pandemic.

Canada is negotiating deals with pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and U.S.-based biotech firm Moderna to secure millions of doses of their experimental COVID-19 vaccines, in case either is approved for wide-scale use.

The federal government is ordering more than 75 million syringes, alcohol swabs and bandages so it can inoculate Canadians as soon as a COVID-19 vaccine is ready.

Proposals for new mines, power plants, pipelines or railways in Canada will have to include plans to hit "net zero" emissions by 2050 if they have any hope of getting approved.

Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson is reconsidering a decision in December to keep the federal government out of the approvals process for a major coal-mine expansion in Alberta.