Leona Alleslev, Deputy
Leader of Canada’s Conservatives and of the Official Opposition and Shadow
Cabinet Minister for Foreign Affairs, Matt Jeneroux, Shadow Cabinet Minister
for Health, Kelly Block, Shadow Cabinet Minister for Public Services and
Procurement, and James Bezan, Shadow Cabinet Minister for National Defence,
issued the following statement:
“In February 2020, the Government of Canada sent Personal Protective Equipment
(PPE) including 50,118 face shields, 1,101 masks, 1,820 goggles, 36,425 medical
gowns, 200,000 nitrile gloves and 3,000 aprons overseas. At the same time, the
World Health Organization was warning countries, including Canada, to prepare
for a COVID-19 outbreak.
“Now Canadian doctors and nurses in Canada are facing an urgent shortage of
PPE, with some Provinces stating that they will run out of essential supplies
within 5 days. These shortages are not limited to PPE but also include
ventilators and other critical and complex equipment required to stop the
spread of the virus and treat those affected by it.
“Global competition for this much needed medical equipment is at an all time
high, with countries around the world doing whatever they can to procure it.
Recent media reports have indicated that medical equipment, which had been
shipped to Canada, was then redirected to the United States. Furthermore,
Conservatives are deeply concerned with President Trump’s direction to
companies such as 3M that they are not to supply Canada with critical medical
equipment.
“While we support the Government of Canada’s efforts to purchase new equipment,
with borders closed, supply chains under strain and countries around the world
grappling with their own shortages of medical equipment, we believe more needs
to be done to protect Canadians.
“Conservatives are calling on the government to immediately take the following
actions to ensure that Canada’s healthcare system has the necessary medical
equipment to fight the COVID-19 pandemic:
- Publish the full list of
COVID-19 critical medical equipment and related supplies and add them to
the Controlled Goods List governed by the Controlled Goods Program. This
will provide much needed clarity to industry. - Work with the provinces and
territories to contract with suppliers, guarantee order quantities, ensure
that the listed items can be manufactured in Canada, and protect supply
chains to ensure a continued availability of raw materials and all sub –
component elements; - Allocate these critical items
at a fair price, and appropriately across the country by priority and
need; and - Formally negotiate a reciprocal
agreement with the United States for critical medical items and related
supplies to ensure Canada’s requirements are fulfilled on a relative
priority basis. Canada must ensure that our contribution to the North
American supply chain for these critical items also preserves and protects
the health and safety of Canadians.
“Conservatives will
continue to use our strengthened Opposition to ensure that healthcare workers
have the critical supplies they need to keep themselves and all Canadians
healthy and safe.”
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