Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently announced that Canada will allocate $2 billion for protective personal equipment, which they will purchase from Canadian businesses.
To help the country deal with increasing COVID-19 cases, the government has made new deals with three Canadian companies: Thornhill Medical, Spartan Bioscience, and Medicom for the supplies, which will include surgical masks, ventilators, and test kits.
Speaking the other day Trudeau said:
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 and we’re optimistic that they will be available in the coming weeks.
The Canadian government in Ottawa previously announced that if companies were able to help out to fight the coronavirus pandemic, they could feel free to reach out. Trudeau said more than 3,000 companies have stepped up and offered their services.
When addressing the Canadian people Trudeau said:
I know that this pandemic has been incredibly challenging for people right across the country, but we’re also seeing the best of what it means to be Canadian. From coast to coast to coast, businesses are retooling to produce face shields, ventilators, hand sanitizers, and other supplies our healthcare professionals need.
The supplies are expected to be ready in the coming weeks, and Trudeau also stated the government has signed letters of intent with five other companies, “We know that the demand for critical equipment and supplies will grow in coming weeks, so we need a sustainable, stable supply of these products. That means making them at home,” said Trudeau.
When asked how the medical supplies will be allocated, he said not by politicians, instead:
We rely on experts, medical officials, on coordination between medical officials in all different provinces to make the determination on where things are most needed and we follow the direct advice of medical experts in terms of how to ensure everyone everywhere has the equipment they need.
The Canadian Prime Minister also addressed the decision to have the products made by companies within the country, to which he said: “The entire world is trying to get its hands on the various equipment needed to fight this virus. That is why we know that it’ll be important to be able to have made-in-Canada solutions.”
According to Public Services and Procurement Minister Anita Anand, the first shipments of 60 million N95 masks should be arriving shortly, and they’ve got more than 1 million COVID-19 test kits on the way and more than 1,500 ventilators.
