OTTAWA -- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced that the federal government is spending $2 billion to procure more personal protective equipment for front-line workers in the COVID-19 fight.
Providing an update on an earlier appeal to manufacturers to pivot their production lines to supply various life-saving medical supplies, Trudeau said the government has heard from just under 3,000 companies willing to help, and a handful have already signed contracts with the government to help boost the health sector’s stockpile.
As part of this, hundreds of ventilators are now in production.
The prime minister said that more equipment will be needed, from masks to testing kits.
This industry effort includes building up the manufacturing capacity to produce equipment and supplies including ventilators, face masks, and sanitizer. The government has also shifted the country’s entire industrial policy to focus on the COVID-19 fight. This has included re-prioritizing existing innovation and research programs and working on agreements with industry to produce more diagnostic testing products and other disease tracking technology.
