Critical COVID-19 masks heading to Canada after Trump and 3M reach deal
OTTAWA-The threat of a total logjam of critical pandemic supplies at the border diminished Monday after a major respirator manufacturer said it will continue to ship medical masks to Canada, where it is "the primary source of supply."
The news came after a huge shipment of N95 masks to Ontario was briefly jeopardized by U.S. President Donald Trump's order to halt exports of protective medical gear.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said earlier in the day that Canadian officials have been working for the past three days to win an exemption to Trump's export ban to ensure critical equipment like surgical masks, N95 respirators and more will still be delivered from manufacturers south of the border.
Then, on Monday evening, American-based company 3M announced it reached a deal to import more than 160 million N95 respirators to the United States. The deal will also allow 3M to continue sending the respirators to Canada and countries in Latin America, where the company is the biggest supplier, the statement said.
A senior government official speaking on background called it "an encouraging statement," but that talks continued late Monday between Canadian and American officials about a wider exemption on Trump's export ban.
The push for an exemption comes amidst a frantic global scramble for critical pandemic supplies that will be required before domestic production fires up to fill Canada's needs. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said shipments from several unnamed countries have been delayed and some orders have been incomplete as Canada seeks tens of millions of new surgical masks, N95 respirators and testing kits, along with thousands of new mechanical ventilators for those dangerously stricken ill by COVID-19.
Alongside Trump's order to ban exports, the European Union has also placed restrictions on the sale of medical protective equipment outside its membership zone.
"It is really a wild west when it comes to buying medical supplies right now. This is a global pandemic and every country in the world is doing its best in a truly fierce competition to get medical equipment," Freeland told reporters in Ottawa.
"It is absolutely very, very tough right now," she said.
The race for supplies is getting more urgent by the day, as Ontario Premier Doug Ford warned Monday the province will run out of some personal protective equipment for front-line medical workers in a week. The province's effort to stock up has also been hampered by Trump's order to withhold supplies of protective medical gear from other countries.
Quebec also warned last week that it was running low on personal protective equipment, while federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu has said Ottawa's national emergency stockpile is "likely" not big enough to meet Canada's needs for the pandemic.
Trudeau pledged Saturday that "millions of masks" would arrive soon from China, and federal Public Service and Procurement Minister Anita Anand's office confirmed that a plane carrying masks landed in Canada Monday morning with "millions" of surgical masks and separate supply orders for Quebec and Nova Scotia.
Chinese telecom company Huawei is also donating masks and other supplies to provinces and the federal government that were gathered through its global supply chains, spokesperson Alykhan Velshi told the Star on Monday.
At Queen's Park, Ford praised Freeland for "rattling some cages" to ensure supplies flow after American officials stopped the province's order of N95 respirator masks from U.S.-based 3M.
"I say Chrystia is a firecracker when she's on onto something. I should say, I apologize, deputy prime minister is a firecracker. She's out there going full steam on this," said Ford.
"What I understand is we had 3 million masks that were stopped by U.S. officials coming out of 3M and South Dakota. I just was briefed not long ago saying that we're able to get 500,000 N95 masks moving forward," he said.
"I'm feeling " a little more confident."
Trump declared on Monday that the "3M saga," as he called it, is over. A senior official in Trudeau's office said that statement was encouraging "a good sign," but not a victory yet. "We still have work to do to ensure future planned shipments come through. But altogether, I think this reinforces what the PM said: we expect deliveries to happen."
Ford said personal protective equipment supply (PPE) lines are "on my mind."
"I don't sleep at night thinking of these PPEs," the premier acknowledged.
There was some good news on supplies - Woodbridge Auto received approval from Health Canada over the weekend to start manufacturing N95 respirator masks.
"Finally, we have prototypes. And I'm going to bring them in tomorrow to show people and I don't want to give you an exact figure, but they're going to start ramping up, going full steam ahead on it," said Ford.
"And I'll have better figures when I bring in the mask tomorrow to give you an exact count. But it's, it's a positive news story. You're hearing some " bleak comments some times " but there is light at the end of the tunnel," he said.
"We are going to get through this. We've hit a few bumps in the road, but I'm confident we're going to get through this."
In recent weeks, the federal government has signed contracts with three companies to crank up production of surgical masks, testing kits and mechanical ventilators. This includes an agreement to help create a new factory for Pointe-Claire, Que.-based Medicom, which is working to supply "tens of millions" of masks to the federal government.
Ottawa is also working with manufacturers to convert factories that previously made items such as auto parts into facilities that can make supplies Canada needs to confront the pandemic.
Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association, told the Star on Monday that he has helped arrange production agreements with about a dozen Canadian companies who have signed orders to make huge amounts of equipment for the federal government and provinces.
This includes orders for about 10,500 new mechanical ventilators from Thornhill Medical and O-Two Medical that Volpe predicted will start shipping in about a month. Other businesses are also preparing to make "millions" of masks, face shields and medical gowns that will start shipping in the coming days, Volpe said.
"We're in production or shortly starting production within a matter of days or weeks," he said, describing how major auto parts manufacturers like Magna International and Linamar are among the companies involved.
"You heard the premier of Ontario" We might be short in a week. Well, the reinforcements are coming. They're in full gallop. We will get there in time on most, if not all, of the categories," Volpe said.
"We're not messing around. The country needs volume. And it needs it yesterday."
Emily Harris, spokesperson for federal Public Service and Procurement Minister Anita Anand, could not confirm the new supply orders that Volpe described. But Harris said the government is expecting to make a procurement announcement Tuesday.
With files from Susan Delacourt
Alex Ballingall is an Ottawa-based reporter covering national politics. Follow him on Twitter: @aballinga
Robert Benzie is the Star's Queen's Park bureau chief and a reporter covering Ontario politics. Follow him on Twitter: @robertbenzie