Under the leadership of Health Minister Patty Hajdu, Canada’s Department of Health purchased over $1 billion worth of ventilators to help care for those suffering from respiratory problems as a result of being infected with Covid-19. The government has since admitted that they may have overestimated the amount needed, and have moved the vast majority to a warehouse for storage.
According to Public Services and Procurement Canada, of the 40,000 ventilators ordered by the Trudeau Liberals at the beginning of the pandemic, 27,706 have been delivered as of April 2022.
Of those, only 2,048 have been utilized. Most were given to provinces and territories, while some were sent to overwhelmed nations. The remaining units were placed in the national emergency strategic stockpile. With the Covid-19 pandemic dwindling, the government has moved to cancel the portions of the orders that have not yet been fulfilled. “Since the spring of 2020, evidence and public health guidance has evolved," Public Services and Procurement Canada explained. “Current modelling indicates that Canada has more than enough ventilators to meet Canada's current and projected needs. As a result, the Government of Canada is working with Canadian suppliers to identify opportunities to reduce the volumes ordered and support them as these contracts wind down.” The massive number of ventilators ordered by the government was criticized by many, including Conservative MP Pierre Paul-Hus, who in 2021 called the decision one of “stupidity.” “I feel that will be enough for about 50 years,” he added. Contracts were awarded to a number of companies, with the vast majority located in Canada. One of the companies subcontracted Baylis Medical, a firm owned by former Liberal MP Frank Baylis. They received a $237 million contract and insisted that the government pay in advance. This raised conflict of interest questions, however, Baylis insisted that he "didn't speak to anybody to try and influence them to give a contract to Baylis Medical." Two other firms, CAE Inc. and Thornhill Medical, received $282.5 million and $200.5 million contracts, respectively.
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