Question Period Note: International competition and export restrictions impacting personal protective equipment procurement

Some countries are continuing to closely control the export of personal protective equipment (PPE), increasing competition for the procurement of these goods. Media has also reported on several instances of medical supplies procured from unfamiliar overseas suppliers not meeting advertised quality standards

• Given the high level of complexity in the global supply chain, ensuring quality of the product Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) is purchasing is extremely important
  • We continue to work closely with our partners around the world, including embassies, as well as with on the ground logistics expertise in the private sector, to purchase needed supplies
  • At the outset of the pandemic, the Government of Canada took an aggressive procurement approach to fulfill emergent and immediate as well as long-term medical supply requirements
  • We have secured more than 2 billion articles of various personal protective equipment, and we continue to receive steady, ongoing deliveries
  • We are also continuing to leverage domestic supply chains wherever possible, with more than 40% of the total value of PPE contracts going to domestic companies
  • Our goal is to ensure Canada has more than sufficient supplies on hand in anticipation of future needs for our provinces, territories, frontline health workers and Canadians

If pressed on quality-issues of medical supplies:

• We are working with established suppliers and distributors, as well as quality assurance experts, and we have strong processes in place to help ensure that the supplies we receive meet all necessary standards
• In addition, the Public Health Agency of Canada has robust testing measures in place, and they are in place for the very purpose of ensuring quality control of these essential products before they go out to provinces and territories
• Although we have encountered situations where supplies were found to be substandard, we acted quickly to address these issues
• We are working closely with suppliers to ensure that products are fit for the intended use

If pressed on international export conditions:

• Countries have implemented export conditions on the goods critical to combating COVID-19, including PPE
• In recent weeks, we have seen improvements in the out flow of some PPE, but others, such as N95 respirators, seem to still undergo a high level of scrutiny by custom officials before they are allowed to be exported
• This environment has made it challenging to source and acquire the PPE that Canada needs
• To ensure consistent deliveries, PSPC has taken the approach of contracting with multiple suppliers sourcing their material from many countries
• This is why we are collaborating with provinces and territories on an ongoing basis to identify their needs and establish bulk buys to purchase required equipment, supplies, and services to combat COVID-19

If pressed on hand sanitizer:

• In the early days of the pandemic, accessing PPE, including hand sanitizer, proved to be challenging as demand far exceeded the available supply
• PSPC worked with Innovation, Science and Economic Development to identify reliable Canadian manufacturers of hand sanitizers, and pivoted to issue contracts to those suppliers as the production within Canada increased
• PSPC procured more than 10.6 million liters of hand sanitizer from Canadian manufacturers

Global demand for medical supplies remains high for the fight against COVID-19, and competition remains fierce for their delivery. The federal government is procuring materials from a variety of sources, including from overseas suppliers. In addition to federal supply purchases, provinces and cities are also sourcing their own equipment.

Some countries are making it challenging to export face masks, gloves and other medical supplies critical for front-line workers in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in a more time-consuming procurement process. China is the largest supplier of PPE in the world, and global supply was impacted when the country had to shut down its factories earlier this year when the outbreak began. Canada explored getting supply from other countries, but still encountered difficulties as protectionist measure, such as the invocation of the Defense Production Act in the US, or export bans in other countries severely impacted export opportunities in these countries. Canada has taken a two-pronged approach to the acquisition of supplies, by scaling up domestic capacity while seeking to acquire PPE internationally.

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