OTTAWA -- Procurement Minister Anita Anand says the federal government鈥檚 "aggressive" procurement approach is intended to fulfill and surpass current personal protective equipment needs, so Canada is well prepared for any future COVID-19 spikes.
On Friday, Anand鈥檚 office released new numbers showing Canada鈥檚 current stock and expected orders of face shields, gowns, hand sanitizer, nitrile gloves, N95 respirators, surgical masks, ventilators, and vinyl gloves sourced both domestically and internationally. The highest quantity of acquired supply is in surgical masks at more than 18 million units.
"Over and above the requests that have come from provinces, we are also preparing for all eventualities, so we鈥檙e planning for the short-term and the long-term. Those numbers are large because of the approach we鈥檙e taking to procurement," said Anand in an interview with CTVNews.ca.
Anand said while recent data showing a flattening of the COVID-19 curve is promising, there鈥檚 good reason to believe Canada -- like other countries -- will experience at least an additional spike in infections.
To prepare, the government has set up multiple supply chains with countries including the U.S. and China. However, reports of delays and tampering of supplies has prompted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his team to stimulate domestic production.
Canadian authorities have found one million protective face masks imported from China to be inadequate for health-care workers. The Public Health Agency of Canada said this week the masks didn't meet its standards and they will not be distributed to provinces as planned.
In an interview on CTV鈥檚 Question Period airing on Sunday, Export Promotion and International Trade Minister Mary Ng could not say whether or not this supplier has been taken off of the federal list of trusted providers of personal protective equipment. She said government is "working on refining the way in which we are procuring and making sure that due diligence and that quality control is done."
However, a representative from the ministry of procurement has confirmed to CTVNews.ca that the supplier will replace the masks that didn鈥檛 meet Canadian standards at no cost to the taxpayer.
"If we have multiple supply chains operating simultaneously, we do not rely on any one country for the PPE that we are seeking to procure for the benefit of health-care workers. As Canadian corporations continue to ramp up and retool, our reliance on international supply chains should decrease," said Anand.
Irving Oil and Bauer, the well-known maker of hockey equipment, are among the companies that have added their names to the government鈥檚 long list of Canadian suppliers coming forward to offer production capabilities.
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce on Friday sent out a press release calling on the federal government to ensure workplaces are properly prepared to equip returning employees with PPE as provinces look to reopen their economies and businesses once again open up shop.
"Under normal circumstances, businesses could source PPE on the open market, but trade restrictions on these products and government health-care demands have made the issue one of national concern," said the Chamber鈥檚 senior director of international policy, Mark Agnew.
"That is why we believe the federal and provincial governments must ensure that PPE is widely available to businesses to protect employees and customers as well as avoid a resurgence of COVID-19."
In response to this, Anand was quick to note all efforts should be directed at acquiring supplies for health-care workers on the front lines in the immediate term. PPE delivery beyond that, and for sectors outside of health care, is still in discussion with provinces and territories, she said.
"The continued distribution outside of the health-care system is something we continue to discuss. I am working closely with my provincial and territorial counterparts in procurement. I gather them together, now twice, and will continue to do so we can talk about their needs outside of the healthcare system and beyond," said Anand.
"But make no mistake, we are not out of phase one"
With a file from The Canadian Press and 麻豆影视' Rachel Aiello
With text infographic by 麻豆影视' Mahima Singh
