Ontario says it will 'track down' and fine those reselling COVID-19 rapid antigen test kits for unfair prices

The Ontario government has announced it is cracking down on individuals or companies who try and sell COVID-19 rapid antigen tests online for exorbitant prices.

Minister of Government and Consumer Services Ross Romano made the announcement Tuesday, saying the province is working to “identify, track down, and fine” those who are charging what they call unfair prices for necessary goods.

“At a time when Ontario families are turning to rapid antigen tests to provide an additional layer of protection against COVID-19, it is deplorable to see bad actors reselling test kits provided free of charge by the provincial government,” Romano said in a statement.

The news comes amid reports that individuals are selling the rapid antigen tests, which can produce a positive or negative result in as little as 20 minutes, online for hundreds of dollars. On Monday, in several posts to sites like Craigslist, ads for packs of COVID-19 rapid antigen tests were selling for anywhere between $90 and $350.

According to Romano, 900 of the “most egregious complaints” regarding rapid test price gouging have been referred to police forces across the province.

Any individual caught reselling the tests for an unfair price could face a fine of $750. If summoned to court and convicted, that fine could reach as high as $100,000 and a year in jail. Company directors could face fines of up to $500,000 and corporations could be slapped with a staggering $10 million fine, if convicted.

Those fines are enforceable under an emergency order issued by the government in March of last year that was issued by Premier Doug Ford to prevent retailers or individuals from price gouging products like face masks, gloves, cold medicine, hand sanitizer, and disinfecting wipes.

Rapid COVID-19 tests have been in high demand as cases of COVID-19 in Ontario continue to climb. Last week, people rushed to LCBO locations to pick up a free test in time for the holidays.

At least 100 LCBO retailers across the province took part in the government’s “holiday testing blitz” on Friday morning and distributed the rapid tests to residents for free.

By Friday evening, the LCBO announced that their supply had run out.

Speaking at a news conference Tuesday afternoon, Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore said that the province may soon need to "put some limitations” on PCR testing -- a more sophisticated type of COVID-19 test that generally produces results in 1 to 3 days -- in order to ensure there are sufficient resources on hand to respond to outbreaks and protect long-term care facilities.

Moore added that Ontario has likely already reached a point where it needs to save its limited supplies of rapid antigen tests to use on health-care professionals and other essential workers.

READ MORE: Ontario may soon have to 'put some limitations' on PCR testing amid surging case counts

According to the province, nearly 50 million rapid tests have been distributed throughout the province, plus an additional two million tests that are being distributed during the holiday blitz.

Ontario's pop-up holiday schedule for rapid antigen tests is ongoing and locations offering a limited supply of tests can be found here.

With files from CP24's Chris Fox