Trudeau announces $2 BILLION for medical equipment

Trudeau started by announcing that former Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale would serve as special adviser for Canada's ongoing response to the downing of flight 752.

"He will also continue to see families properly compensated."

Trudeau says his government has reached out directly to 3,000 companies who had offered their help in repurposing their factories, and producing medical equipment or materials needed in hospitals.

"I want to thank all the owners, entrepreneurs, and managers," Trudeau said.

Trudeau updated Canadians by saying that they will be moving forward with contracts to three Canadian supply chains: Thornville Medical, Medicom, and Spartan Bioscience. The companies will aid in the production of ventilators, surgical masks, and test kits.

He also announced that he has signed letters of intent with five other companies: Precision Biomonitoring, Fluid Energy Group, Irving Oil, Calko Group, and Stanfields.

"We know that the demand for critical equipment and supplies will grow in the coming weeks, so we need a sustainable, stable supply of these products—and that means making them at home," the prime minister said.

Trudeau said it would be the "existing next generation manufacturing supercluster" that will lead companies in developing and scaling up new technologies to test and treat Canadians.

Trudeau then announced that an additional $2 billion would be spent on protective personal equipment for face shields, masks, swabs, and hand sanitizer.

"There’s no question we need more masks, ventilators, and testing kits. But how many more we need depends on you. If you stay home and follow public health recommendations, you can slow the spread," the prime minister said.

"We're expecting shipments to come in in the coming days," he continued.

Trudeau said the next press conference will have more details regarding the number of masks and specifics around the amounts of PPE produced.

When asked about the possibility of rationing medical equipment, Trudeau said: "One of the issues we're faced with is we're looking at a different models. Worst care scenarios are fairly dire. Health care workers need to keep in mind the worst case scenarios—we need to be careful and responsible about the equipment we have."