Post by garycoleco on Jul 11, 2024 21:39:18 GMT -5
Access To Information records show millions of dollars worth of ventilators bought from a Quebec contractor by Ottawa ended up as scrap metal, according to Blacklock’s Reporter.Nearly all 8,200 ventilators from Montreal firm scrapped by feds:
Access To Information records show millions of dollars worth of ventilators bought from a Quebec contractor by Ottawa ended up as scrap metal, according to Blacklock’s Reporter.
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The records say that of the 8,200 CAE ventilators delivered at taxpayers’ expense, 8,180, or 99% were “slated for sale as scrap metal.”
The documents didn’t say what the Public Health Agency did with the remaining 20 devices.
“I am glad we were able to support CAE (Inc. of Montreal),” said then-Industry Minister Navdeep Bains Minister Bains at the time.
The ventilators “will help save the lives of COVID-19 patients,” he claimed.
CAE, formerly Canadian Aviation Electronics, had layoffs of 1,500 at the outbreak of the pandemic on March 11, 2020. On April 9, the company was awarded a $282,500,000 sole-sourced contract for ventilators even though it had not manufactured the devices.
As a result, those laid-off employees were recalled by the company.
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“CAE, one of Canada’s leading aerospace firms, stepped up early on,” said Bains.
The contract was “a testament to CAE’s agility and innovative capability,” he said.
However, there is no record of any CAE ventilator being used medically even before thousands were sold as scrap metal.
According to internal emails in the Prime Minister’s Office, the devices repeatedly failed Department of Health tests.
“CAE’s first delivery proved deficient,” said a Sept. 10, 2020 staff email, per Blacklock’s Reporter.
“Problems were serious,” it added.
A second review found “significant shortcomings with patient safety implications,” it said.
The company, however, at the time defended its work.
“CAE designed its ventilator from scratch,” Helene Gagnon, senior vice president, said in an earlier interview. “It is a testament to Canadian innovation. Remember, the world was looking for ventilators urgently.”
Access To Information records show millions of dollars worth of ventilators bought from a Quebec contractor by Ottawa ended up as scrap metal, according to Blacklock’s Reporter.
Article content
The records say that of the 8,200 CAE ventilators delivered at taxpayers’ expense, 8,180, or 99% were “slated for sale as scrap metal.”
The documents didn’t say what the Public Health Agency did with the remaining 20 devices.
“I am glad we were able to support CAE (Inc. of Montreal),” said then-Industry Minister Navdeep Bains Minister Bains at the time.
The ventilators “will help save the lives of COVID-19 patients,” he claimed.
CAE, formerly Canadian Aviation Electronics, had layoffs of 1,500 at the outbreak of the pandemic on March 11, 2020. On April 9, the company was awarded a $282,500,000 sole-sourced contract for ventilators even though it had not manufactured the devices.
As a result, those laid-off employees were recalled by the company.
Article content
“CAE, one of Canada’s leading aerospace firms, stepped up early on,” said Bains.
The contract was “a testament to CAE’s agility and innovative capability,” he said.
However, there is no record of any CAE ventilator being used medically even before thousands were sold as scrap metal.
According to internal emails in the Prime Minister’s Office, the devices repeatedly failed Department of Health tests.
“CAE’s first delivery proved deficient,” said a Sept. 10, 2020 staff email, per Blacklock’s Reporter.
“Problems were serious,” it added.
A second review found “significant shortcomings with patient safety implications,” it said.
The company, however, at the time defended its work.
“CAE designed its ventilator from scratch,” Helene Gagnon, senior vice president, said in an earlier interview. “It is a testament to Canadian innovation. Remember, the world was looking for ventilators urgently.”
