The rise and fall of Canada’s domestic PPE market

Most Canadian companies that answered federal and provincial calls through the pandemic to construct up a home sector for private protecting gear have collapsed.

The affiliation that represents Canadian PPE corporations says 90 per cent of these companies have been compelled to shut or pivot to different industries as a result of the federal authorities and Ontario have given contracts to an enormous American firm and a Quebec operation.

“We’ve got an industry that is just running on fumes,” Barry Hunt, the president of the Canadian Association of PPE Manufacturers, stated in an interview.

“Most of them are out of business and the ones that aren’t out of business are going out of business quickly.”

A serious problem, Hunt stated, is massive PPE orders the federal and Ontario governments positioned with American firm 3M, which has a facility in Brockville, Ont., and Quebec-based Medicom. Hospitals — who purchase as bigger teams — have additionally shut out home PPE suppliers, he stated.

“There was a promise to procure at the end and that has never happened,” stated Hunt, whose affiliation has 15 corporations remaining as members.

The scramble for PPE started within the spring of 2020, when governments all over the world rushed to obtain masks, robes, gloves and different protecting gear as COVID-19 unfold. The virus hit Canada with full pressure in March 2020.

In April 2020, George Irwin answered authorities pleas to assist. He paused operations at his family-owned toy firm, Irwin Toy, to import masks to Ontario.

As many international locations struggled to obtain masks, Irwin’s connections in China, together with Air Canada’s assist, allowed him to safe 2.5 million masks.

That success prompted each the Ontario and federal governments to ask Irwin to think about establishing a plant in Canada, he stated. He crunched the numbers and believed he might make a greater masks than those from China for about the identical value.

He obtained about $2 million in grant cash from Ontario and put in about $6 million to construct a plant to make masks in Collingwood, Ont.

With his background in toys — a continually evolving, progressive business — Irwin labored with others and created an antimicrobial four-layer masks. He additionally created a reusable and recyclable respirator masks.

Irwin stated he believed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Doug Ford after they stated they needed to create a home PPE sector.

But neither authorities has bought a single masks from him, he stated.

Irwin’s firm went into receivership final summer time. He might lose every thing, together with his dwelling.

“I’m pissed off,” Irwin stated. “We did nothing wrong, all we did was make a better product that’s been ignored.”

Others have comparable tales.

Paul Sweeny runs Swenco in Waterloo, Ont., a business began by his father 60 years in the past.

They make parts for security sneakers and, in 2019, acquired into the N95 masks business after signing a distribution take care of an organization in Singapore.

When COVID-19 hit, Sweeny offered a transport container of N95s in three days.

“We decided right then and there, let’s get into the mask business,” he stated.

Ontario gave him a $2 million grant, he stated, noting the whole funding within the business sits at round $6 million.

Sweeny now has 11 machines in his plant, an enormous clear room, automated packaging and robots. The plant has the capability to make upwards of 25 million masks a month and make use of 60 folks. But that is not occurring proper now.

“The plant is idle,” Sweeny stated, including he needs no extra platitudes from governments.

“Just give me an order so we can get the machines operational.”

Hunt, of the PPE producers affiliation, stated governments owe corporations who answered the emergency pandemic name. Ottawa and Ontario might have supplied funding and helped with analysis and growth, however they have not come by with orders, he stated.

“If the governments are never going to buy Canadian PPE, and you’ve asked all these companies to invest and develop all this stuff, then give them their money back,” Hunt stated.

“Let them get out and transition to start something else.”

What actually upsets many corporations, Hunt stated, is the announcement by Trudeau and Ford in August 2020 that they have been investing $47 million in 3M to provide N95 masks for the governments over the following 5 years.

Hunt runs an organization that makes reusable and biodegradable respirators — made out of corn — with no arduous plastic or metallic, and believed after conversations with the federal and provincial governments that he, and different Canadian corporations, would get business from them.

“We were totally blindsided by the 3M deal,” Hunt stated.

The province’s Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery didn’t reply questions concerning the offers with 3M and Quebec’s Medicom, or if it deliberate to assist the struggling PPE corporations.

Spokesman Colin Blachar stated it had created a stockpile of PPE from Ontario producers and that “93 per cent of the forecasted PPE for the next 18 months will be purchased from Ontario or Canadian-based manufacturers.”

Public Services and Procurement Canada stated the federal authorities took “an aggressive procurement approach” at first of the pandemic to fulfill fast and long-term medical provide necessities. As the pandemic has advanced, the federal government’s necessities for PPE have too, it stated.

“We are grateful for all Canadian companies that answered the Government of Canada’s call to action to support the pandemic response,” spokeswoman Stefanie Hamel wrote.

“These efforts helped to secure domestic production of critical PPE and medical supplies that were urgently needed by front-line health-care workers and helped to meet the most urgent and immediate demands for personal protective equipment.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first revealed March 16, 2023.