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Procurement: Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates—November 16, 2020

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Integrity in federal procurement

Context

Following the consultations aimed at identifying and addressing gaps and shortcomings in the existing Integrity Regime, there has been considerable public discussion around corporate wrongdoing, as well as the government’s responses to such misconduct. Expectations among media and industry stakeholders that enhancements to the Integrity Regime will be brought forward are expected to persist.

Note

Questions on remediation agreements should be directed to the Department of Justice.

Suggested response

If pressed on when the enhanced Integrity Regime will be released:

If pressed on the status of Bombardier to be awarded contracts:

Background

In recent years, the government introduced measures to protect the integrity of its contracts, including the government-wide Integrity Regime, the federal contracting fraud tip line, and increased oversight for the detection of bid-rigging. The Integrity Regime is designed to help ensure that the government does business with ethical suppliers and incentivizes suppliers to ensure strong ethics and compliance frameworks. A supplier may be suspended or declared ineligible to do business with the government if, in the previous 3 years it, members of its board of directors, or its affiliates, have been charged with or convicted of one of the offences listed in the Ineligibility and Suspension Policy in Canada or abroad.

Under the current regime, 4 companies have been declared ineligible to do business with the Government of Canada due to convictions for a listed offence (Hickey Construction Ltd., Les Entreprises Chatel Inc., R.M. Belanger Limited and Les Industries Garanties Limitée). One company is subject to an administrative arrangement in lieu of suspension due to charges for a listed offence (SNC-Lavalin).

In 2018, the government announced its plans to enhance the Integrity Regime by increasing the number of triggers for debarment, broadening the scope of business ethics covered by the regime, and integrating greater flexibility within the debarment process. Following this announcement, there was considerable public discourse around corporate wrongdoing as well as governments’ response to such misconduct. As a result, the government announced that it was taking additional time to reassess elements of the proposed regime and potential next steps.

In the interim, the current Ineligibility and Suspension Policy remains in effect.

Bombardier

A number of media outlets are reporting that the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has recently announced an investigation of Canadian industrial group Bombardier over suspected bribery in airplane sales to Garuda Indonesia. The company has confirmed this investigation and stated that the SFO was investigating a number of transactions that led to a former chief executive officer of Garuda Indonesia being convicted of bribery and money-laundering in May 2020.

Essential Services Contingency Reserve

Context

The Government of Canada is operationalizing the Essential Services Contingency Reserve (ESCR) to provide essential services workers with access to personal protective equipment, non-medical masks and disinfection products to meet urgent, short-term needs.

Suggested response

If pressed on contracts issued to operationalize the contingency reserve:

If pressed on supplier types for contracts issued to stock the contingency reserve :

If pressed on eligibility for the contingency reserve:

If pressed on the Essential Services Contingency Reserve timelines for order fulfillment:

If pressed on cost-recovery:

If pressed on inventory:

Background

In late April 2020, a [Redacted] was taken to establish an ESCR. Given supply and demand challenges, procurements for personal protective equipment and associated disinfecting supplies were quickly initiated before warehousing was in place.

Initially, stock for the contingency reserve was housed at PSPC-owned warehouse locations. However the sites did not have sufficient capacity for the planned inventory and were not equipped with the necessary tools to manage the inventory, including rapid distribution to end users.

Discussions were held in early June 2020 with Canada Post, Purolator and SCI to explore options for an integrated warehousing, logistics and distribution solution. Subsequently a contract was issued to SCI as it provided a turnkey solution, including immediate capacity and a nation-wide network of warehouse locations. Further, SCI had a warehouse management system with the ability to provide real-time inventory management and the ability to integrate the system with the online catalogue ordering tool being developed.

At the same time, Infosys Public Services was engaged to develop the case management and intake tool for the contingency reserve as there was a requirement to put in a place a solution that would be compatible with the existing electronic procurement system they had developed. Given their experience developing the electronic procurement system and the need for the solution to leverage existing infrastructure in place, only this vendor could deliver a solution for the contingency reserve within the short timeframe required.

There is a 2-step process to access the contingency reserve:

  1. registration
  2. order placement

As of November 10, 2020, the contingency reserve has received a total of 142 requests for registration from the following sectors:

Of the businesses registered, 19 have placed orders. Of those orders, 11 have been cancelled, 6 approved and 2 are under review. A portion of the cancelled orders have been redirected to supply available through provinces and territories.

To date, the contingency reserve has been mostly accessed by small and medium size enterprises rather than consolidated requests from critical sectors. As such, the approval process for orders valued at less than $5,000 has been streamlined to remain within Public Services and Procurement Canada to reduce processing times and ensure timely order fulfillment.

Supplementary Estimates B

Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) is seeking access to $500 million (in both vote 1—operating expenditures and statutory authority) in 2020 to 2021 to establish the Essential Services Contingency Reserve, to which essential service organizations can apply for temporary, urgent access to PPE and other critical supplies.

This funding is in addition to the original $500 million received through Supplementary Estimates (A), which brings PSPC’s total authorities to $1 billion for 2020 to 2021.

Statutory authorities granted under the Public Health Events of National Concern Payment Act (PHENCPA) are available until December 31, 2020.

Funding sought in the vote 1—operating expenditures will provide the department with the necessary funding to continue activities related to the COVID-19 response after the expiry of the Public Health Events of National Concern Payment Act (PHENCPA).

Additional warehouse space in Canada for Public Health Agency of Canada

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Public Health Agency of Canada’s (PHAC) National Emergency Strategic Stockpile (NESS) warehouse network comprised of [Redacted] warehouses totalling approximately 167,000 square feet. This included [Redacted] warehouses (119,000 square feet) and [Redacted] warehouses (48,000 square feet). While these warehouses were relatively full prior to the pandemic, not all of its material was relevant in addressing the current situation.

The volume of personal protective equipment (PPE) ordered in response to the pandemic was well beyond Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) capacity to receive and store such supplies. Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) has supported PHAC by entering into leases and service contracts to provide with additional warehousing capacity.

Leases

PSPC initially entered into short-term leases for PHAC for 2 additional warehouses [Redacted] totalling approximately 187,000 square feet. These warehouses are expected to be vacated upon expiry of the leases in March 2021. These warehouses are currently relatively full, but some further material continues being delivered to them.

A new lease at the [Redacted] has been secured to replace these expiring leases with a start date of January 1, 2021, for a fixed period of 8 years with a total of 127,000 square feet of warehouse. This warehouse has not started receiving material.

A 350,000-square-foot facility in [Redacted] was also leased for 3 years until July 2023, with an additional 1-year option until July 2024. This warehouse is 100% full until racking is installed in it to grow its capacity.

A request has also been made to use a warehouse in [Redacted] which is vacant and in PSPC inventory. This warehouse was used for PSPC PPE surge capacity storage during summer 2020. This site will provide PHAC with a long term solution for 73,000 square feet of warehousing space, which can be put into service immediately. This is not yet in use.

Services contracts

Initially when PHAC started receiving large quantities of additional PPE in April 2020, they leveraged 100,000 square feet of warehouse space in [Redacted] from [Redacted] a key ongoing subcontractor of Canada Post. This warehouse did, however, quickly run out of space and was only available for the short term. The operations at that warehouse also relied on personnel from the Canadian Armed Forces. This is no longer being used.

On May 4, 2020, a letter of interest/request for information (LOI/RFI) was published on Buy and Sell to gather information regarding a longer-term warehousing, inventory management and transportation solution. This notice closed on May 7, 2020 and the review of the expressions of interest resulted in PHAC directly awarding a short-term contract to Groupe Robert Inc. on May 22, 2020 to support immediate warehousing needs.

Further to the LOI/RFI process, PSPC then awarded a 6-month contract to Groupe Robert Inc. on June 14, 2020. This contract provided 215,000 square feet of warehousing space in the [Redacted] Area, and 150,000 square feet in the [Redacted] Area, transportation capabilities and a warehouse management system capability. These warehouses quickly filled as the volume of PPE delivered at the time was significant. Of these warehouses, one in [Redacted] is in the final stages of being emptied by shipping its content to the provinces. Another adjacent warehouse in [Redacted] and one in [Redacted] are only available until the end of November 2020. Planning is already underway to ship most of the contents of these 2 warehouses to provinces. Finally, the last warehouse under this contract in [Redacted] is only available until the end of December 2020. In total, approximately 16,000 pallets currently remain in these warehouses at this time. These warehouses are approximately 50% full, but this is normal since this contract is expiring by end of December 2020.

Additionally, a 2-year service contract was awarded to Groupe Robert Inc. on July 31, 2020, to operate the 350,000-square-foot facility leased by PSPC on behalf of PHAC in [Redacted]. The facility is currently full with approximately 20,000 pallets. The installation of racking that will start in phases in November will allow to gradually grow the capacity to 34,000 pallets by the end of February 2021.

As further warehousing capacity was required during the summer, existing and new contracts were utilized with different suppliers, including Overseas Express Consolidators, Bolloré Logistics Canada and Urban Valley Transport Ltd. to meet the required warehousing capacity.

For Overseas Express Consolidator (OEC), we have access to a dedicated 100,000-square-foot warehouse in [Redacted] until July 2021. This warehouse is currently 83% full with 7.6 million gowns for a total of 5,400 pallets. OEC also provides some space in the [Redacted] Area where 74 million nitrile gloves are currently in short term storage before being distributed across Canada.

For Bolloré Logistics Canada, they are currently storing 38 million gowns and 3.3 million litres of hand sanitizer across [Redacted] different warehouses in [Redacted] representing approximately 33,000 pallets in total. 6,200 pallets of hand sanitizer are in the process of being shipped to our longer-term service provider Metro Logistics Inc. The Bolloré contract does not provide committed warehouse space for a given period but rather provides transitional space as and when required and if available. The contract allows the flexibility for additional space to be provided if needed.

For Urban Valley Transport Ltd., they are currently storing 13 million gowns, 2.5 million face shields and 3 million litres of hand sanitizer across 6 different warehouses in [Redacted] representing approximately 18,000 pallets in total representing approximately 120,000 square feet of space usage. The Urban Valley contract does not provide committed warehouse space for a given period but rather provides transitional space as-and-when required and if available. The contract allows the flexibility for additional space to be provided if needed.

In parallel with the above work, PSPC proceeded with a request for proposal for national logistics and warehousing services on July 16, 2020, to provide for warehousing, inventory management and distribution services. As a result of this competitive process, PSPC awarded a contract to Metro Logistics Inc. on September 11, 2020. The contract is for a period of 2 years until August 2022, with an option for a further 1-year extension until August 2023.

Under this contract, PHAC is being provided with 2 dedicated warehouses in the [Redacted] providing with 463,000 square feet to store 58,000 pallets, 2 dedicated warehouses in the [Redacted] Area [Redacted] providing with 174,000 square feet to store 15,000 pallets and 1 dedicated warehouse in [Redacted] to provide with 154,000 square feet to store 13,000 pallets. Under this contract, hand sanitizer is also being stored in each region at subcontractor facilities as it requires special handling procedures given it is a dangerous goods/hazardous product. In total, warehousing capacity of approximately 120,000 square feet to store 10,000 pallets of hand sanitizer will be made available at such subcontractor’s facilities. To date, after receiving material for only 1 month, their various warehouses are approximately 10% full with more than 9,500 pallets of the total capacity of 96,000 pallets having been shipped to Metro. This contract also provides national distribution to all provinces and territories and a warehouse management system capability to facilitate the reporting and control of material.

In August 2020, the Government of Canada announced the creation of the Essential Services Contingency Reserve (ESCR), an emergency backstop of PPE and other critical supplies, managed by PSPC. The ESCR includes a number of warehouses across Canada, managed under a separate contract by SCI Logistics, a subsidiary of Canada Post, with Purolator serving as the distribution and delivery agent.

Public Services and Procurement Canada’s role in management of the National Emergency Strategic Stockpile

Context

Prior to COVID-19, the Public Health Agency of Canada’s (PHAC) National Emergency Strategic Stockpile (NESS) warehouse network was comprised of [Redacted] warehouses totalling approximately 167,000 square feet. This included [Redacted] warehouses (119,000 square feet) and [Redacted] warehouses (48,000 square feet). The amount and volume of personal protective equipment (PPE) ordered in response to the pandemic was well beyond PHAC’s capacity to receive and store. PSPC has supported PHAC by entering into service contracts and leases to provide with additional warehousing capacity.

Suggested response

If pressed on Public Services and Procurement Canada’s role:

If pressed on Public Health Agency of Canada’s role:

If pressed on request for proposal for national logistics and warehousing services:

If pressed on Metro’s role:

If pressed on Groupe Robert’s role:

If pressed on additional warehousing measures:

Background

Since the outset of the pandemic, the government has adapted to manage the volume of supplies. These measures have included service contracts and leases for additional warehouses, turning to the Canadian Armed Forces for assistance with logistics, and leveraging existing agreements.

A number of different suppliers, including Maritime Ontario, Groupe Robert Inc, Metro Logistics Inc, Urban Valley Transport Ltd., Overseas Express Consolidators and Bolloré Logistics Canada have been used to support inventory management, warehousing and distribution. Through such contracts, PPE is currently being warehoused in [Redacted].

PSPC also entered into short-term leases for PHAC for 2 additional warehouses [Redacted] totalling approximately 187,000 square feet. These warehouses are expected to be vacated upon expiry of the leases in March 2021. A new lease at the [Redacted] has been secured to replace these expiring leases with a start date of January 1, 2021, for a fixed period of 8 years with a total of 127,000 square feet of warehouse.

On April 1, 2020, PSPC signed, on behalf of PHAC, a 1-year contract with Amazon to use their on-line technology for provinces to order material directly. Canada Post and Purolator were delivering the equipment to provinces and territories as a subcontractor of Amazon. The agreement had primarily been put in place to access Amazon’s easy-to-use online interface, which allowed individual health establishments to order supplies directly from PHAC. As provinces and territories requested that PHAC deliver the supplies directly rather than awaiting for orders from them, the requirement evolved beyond what was covered in the Amazon agreement. As a result, the contract with Amazon was suspended in mid-July 2020. Prior to the suspension, only $200,000 has been spent under this contract.

A separate agreement between PHAC and Canada Post allowed for the warehousing of the PPE at [Redacted] a key on-going subcontractor of Canada Post. This warehouse quickly ran out of space. PHAC subsequently awarded, on May 22, 2020, a contract to Groupe Robert as a temporary measure while a long-term solution was being developed.

On May 4, 2020, a letter of intent / request for information (LOI / RFI) was published on Buy and Sell to gather information in relation to a longer-term warehousing, inventory management and transportation solution. Further to the LOI / RFI process, on June 13, 2020, PSPC awarded a 6-month contract to Groupe Robert Inc. This contract provided 215,000 square feet of warehousing space in the [Redacted] Area, and 150,000 square feet in the [Redacted] Area, transportation capabilities and a warehouse management system capability. These warehouses quickly filled as the volume of PPE being delivered at the time was significant. Of the warehouses, one in [Redacted] is in the final stages of being emptied with its content being shipped to provinces. Another adjacent warehouse in [Redacted] and 1 in [Redacted] are only available until the end of November 2020. Planning is already underway to ship most of the contents of these 2 warehouses to provinces. Finally, the last warehouse under this contract in [Redacted] is only available until the end of December 2020. At that point, the contract will come to its end.

PSPC also proceeded with a request for proposal for national logistics and warehousing services on July 16, 2020, to provide for warehousing, inventory management and distributions services. As a result of this competitive process, PSPC awarded, on behalf of PHAC, a 2-year contract, with an option for an additional year to Metro Logistics Inc. The contract, awarded on September 11, 2020, ensures warehousing across the country to accommodate and best position supplies for distribution to the provinces and territories.

In August 2020, the Government of Canada announced the creation of the Essential Services Contingency Reserve (ESCR), an emergency backstop of PPE and other critical supplies, managed by PSPC. The ESCR includes a number of warehouses across Canada, managed under a separate contract by SCI Logistics, a subsidiary of Canada Post, with Purolator serving as the distribution and delivery agent.

COVID-19 Supply Council

Context

The Government of Canada has created a COVID-19 Supply Council which brings together a diverse group of leaders to provide the government with advice on the procurement of critical goods and services required as part of Canada’s COVID-19 response and recovery.

Suggested response

If pressed on the registration of council members on the lobbyist registry:

Background

The council is providing advice on building innovative and agile supply chains for goods in wide use such as masks, gloves and disinfectants, including production, sourcing, shipping and distribution strategies as the situation surrounding COVID-19 continues to evolve. It is an advisory body reporting to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement, who serves as the chair of the council. The council has held 3 meetings (May 8, 2020, May 28, 2020 and June 22, 2020), and the next meeting has yet to be scheduled. The council consists of 16 members from across the public, private and non-profit sectors.

Membership

The following is a list of the COVID-19 Supply Council members:

Members were selected for their expertise and leadership in their respective fields and their work on the council will be on a voluntary basis. The council will be convened until the end of 2020, a term that the minister can extend if circumstances require it.

International competition and export restrictions impacting personal protective equipment procurement

Context

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.

Suggested response

If pressed on quality-issues of medical supplies:

If pressed on international export conditions:

Background

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 2-pronged approach to the acquisition of supplies, by scaling up domestic capacity while seeking to acquire PPE internationally.

Labour exploitation in procurement of personal protective equipment

Context

The global nature of supply chains puts Canada’s personal protective equipment (PPE) procurements at potential risk of having been produced using forced labour and human trafficking.

Suggested response

If pressed on personal protective equipment procurements linked to Xinjiang, China:

If pressed on lack of compliance monitoring for existing measures:

If pressed on the risk assessment :

Background

The complexity of global supply chains enhances the vulnerabilities of those in precarious work situations in Canada and around the world. According to a 2017 joint report by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Walk Free Foundation, forced labour is present throughout all regions of the globe and most prevalent in manufacturing, construction, mining, agriculture, and domestic work. In a 2016 report, World Vision Canada found that over 1,200 companies operating in Canada are importing goods that may have been produced by child or forced labour.

Supply chains for PPE are spread across numerous countries with varying business practices and government regulations. Compounded by the global urgency to acquire PPE, this context may enable an environment where workers’ conditions are overlooked.

The Government of Canada is taking actions, under the National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking to ensure that federal suppliers comply with international labour and human rights. As part of the national strategy, PSPC is leading the following initiatives:

As part of planned actions under the national strategy, PSPC will also create information resources for suppliers to increase its awareness of potential risks in their supply chains (2021 to 2022); and create requirements for suppliers of high-risk goods to address risks in their supply chain (2022 to 2023).

Moreover, in July 2020, clauses on ‘ethical procurement’ and ‘origin of work’ were added in new PPE contracts and in all newly issued request for proposals for PPE. The ‘origin of work’ clause requires bidders to provide the name, address and country of manufacturers of the item, including subcontractors. The ‘ethical procurement’ clause, requires bidders to certify that they and their first-tier subcontractors comply with the same human rights and labour standards set out in the Ethical Procurement of Apparel Policy.

Indigenous procurement process

Context

Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) has been procuring medical supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE), and is working to increase the participation of Indigenous businesses in federal procurement.

Suggested response

If pressed on Indigenous participation in federal procurement for COVID-19:

Background

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, PSPC has awarded 28 contracts to 22 self-identified Indigenous businesses, collectively worth almost $76 million including for logistics and air charter services, accommodation and cleaning services, information technology (IT) professional services, medical and laboratory supplies, masks, hand sanitizer and thermometers.

PSPC is working actively with Indigenous groups to increase their participation in federal procurement more broadly. This includes ongoing work with the Indigenous Business COVID-19 Taskforce, which brings together numerous Indigenous groups, including the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB), National Aboriginal Capital Corporation Association (NACCA), Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) and Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada. The taskforce seeks to identify and mobilize Indigenous businesses to provide medical equipment and supplies, including by creating a database of Indigenous businesses. Indigenous Services Canada is the lead department federally, with PSPC supporting the taskforce’s work. PSPC is leveraging the database to increase the participation of Indigenous businesses in federal procurement.

In addition, PSPC works in close collaboration with the Council for the Advancement of Native Development Officers (CANDO), a national Indigenous organization involved in community economic development. The partnership is focused on helping the council and its economic development officers support Indigenous businesses across Canada by providing information, focused access, and services from the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises.

The minister’s Supply Council includes the CCAB. This council provides the minister with ideas for strengthening and streamlining the government’s efforts to support essential services organizations in accessing supplies in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition, the Minister’s Supplier Advisory Committee contributes to understanding and addressing barriers that smaller businesses face in federal procurement, including those faced by Indigenous-owned businesses. The Canadian Aboriginal and Minority Suppliers Council (CAMSC), represented by its President Cassandra Dorrington, has been an active and contributing member since the Supplier Advisory Committee’s first meeting in 2013.

Security screening equipment for Global Affairs Canada

Context

On behalf of Global Affairs Canada (GAC), Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) issued a national master standing offer (NMSO) to Nuctech Inc., a Chinese state-owned company, for X-ray screening equipment for use in non-operational areas in Canadian missions abroad.

Suggested response

If pressed on awarding the National Master Standing Offer to Nuctech:

If pressed on the Integrity Regime:

If pressed on the Postmedia story on Nuctech (Integrity Regime implications):

Background

The requirement was to establish 2 NMSOs for the supply of security screening equipment (conveyor style X-ray machines and walkthrough metal detectors) for GAC and other federal departments on an as and when requested basis. The NMSOs will be in place for a period of 3 years from date of issuance with the option to extend for 2 additional 1-year periods under the same terms and conditions.

The request for standing offer was issued on December 16, 2019, and closed on April 3, 2020. An offer had to comply with the requirements of the request for standing offer and meet all mandatory technical evaluation criteria listed therein to be declared responsive. The responsive offer with the lowest evaluated price for each product group were recommended for issuance of a standing offer. No security requirements were identified for this standing offer by the technical authority (Global Affairs Canada). As such no PSPC security services were identified as required, nor were any requested by exception, and PSPC’s Contract Security Program was not engaged in the solicitation process.

Bidders had to meet a mandatory technical requirements in order to be considered for evaluation on price. Mandatory technical requirements included providing alerts for various dangerous materials like explosives and weapons, a variety of screening modes, and safety protocols.

As for all contracts, PSPC conducted an integrity check on Nuctech and no issues were identified.

The Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT) received a complaint from K’(Prime) Technologies Inc. (KPrime), of Calgary, Alberta, concerning a procurement by PSPC, more specifically for conveyer X-ray machines and walk-through metal detectors. On July 31, 2020, the CITT accepted the complaint for enquiry. To date, no confidentiality order has been issued.

Related Integrity Regime items in the Postmedia article by John Ivison

A story published by Postmedia mentions adverse information relating to Nuctech operations in Taiwan, Namibia, and Europe. However, under the Integrity Regime, determinations of ineligibility and suspension can only be made on the basis of charges or convictions related to one of the listed offences in Canada or abroad. Adverse information alone would not be sufficient for declaring a supplier to be ineligible.

Supplying Canada’s response to COVID-19

November 10, 2020: 11:30 am (EDT)

The Government of Canada is taking a whole-of-government approach in response to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), including major investments in equipment and supplies for the health sector, as well as research, science and innovation.

Coordinated response to purchasing equipment and supplies

The Government of Canada is collaborating with provinces and territories on an ongoing basis to identify their needs and purchase required equipment, supplies and services to combat COVID-19.

Canada is taking an aggressive approach to buying, especially when it comes to personal protective equipment for front-line healthcare workers. This includes:

This is over and above efforts provinces and territories are taking to secure their own supply.

The quantities ordered for personal protective equipment and medical supplies are intended to meet short-term needs and anticipate Canada’s long-term needs as we continue to respond to COVID-19 while preparing for any eventuality over the coming months.

The government is also coordinating shipments of supplies from other countries. Canada has established on-the-ground support in China for transportation, receiving, storage services and customs clearances. This will be an ongoing process as orders are ready to be shipped to Canada.

Overview of purchases and deliveries

This table provides an overview of the Government of Canada’s purchases of selected personal protective equipment and medical supplies to support 3 key areas:

“Quantities ordered” includes products scheduled for delivery by March 31, 2022.

Due to the current complex supply chain environment, “quantities ordered” may fluctuate because of new contracts, contract amendments and cancellations.

“Quantities received” includes the approximate number of products that have been shipped and are in transit or have arrived at a Government of Canada warehouse.

While specific quantities change on a regular basis, the bulk of these supplies are directed to frontline healthcare workers.

Contract information

As part of our commitment to transparency and accountability, we are publicly disclosing contracting information to the fullest extent possible, supplier names and contract amounts can be found on our new COVID-19 contracting information page.

COVID-19 contract information

Table 1: Items ordered and received (information as of November 2, 2020)
Item table 1 note 1 Quantities ordered Quantities received
Face shields 60,313,000 51,584,110
Gloves (pairs) 1,240,248,078 550,500,245
Gowns 132,842,681 109,916,958
Hand sanitizer (litres) 20,646,000 20,646,000
N95 respirators table 1 note 2 161,735,540 66,071,116
Non-medical masks: Face coverings 77,345,784 25,053,813
Non-medical masks: Cloth masks 9,000,600 7,928,071
Surgical masks 419,990,550 309,902,900
Ventilators 40,547 5,118

Table 1 Notes

Table 1 Note 1

Items listed include selected personal protective equipment and supplies for the healthcare sector. PSPC is also purchasing non-medical items, such as coveralls, boot covers and latex gloves.

Return to table 1 note 1 referrer

Table 1 Note 2

This includes N95, KN95, and FFP2 respirators. N95 respirators are certified by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (organization based in the United States), KN95 ones are the Chinese equivalent, and the FFP2 are the European equivalent.

Return to table 1 note 2 referrer

Note

  • Supplies for the healthcare sector were ordered on behalf of the Public Health Agency of Canada for distribution to provinces and territories, as part of bulk and proactive purchases that began in January 2020. These are supplementary to the existing National Emergency Strategic Stockpile, as well as to the stocks of supplies that exist in, and are being procured directly by provinces and territories
  • Given the high global demand for these goods, there is a possibility that not all contracts will be entirely fulfilled. This has been taken into consideration in the procurement approach, and additional steps are being taken to meet our goal of having sufficient supply to exceed demand

Working with Canadian companies

Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC), in collaboration with the Public Health Agency of Canada and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, is exploring all options for securing the necessary equipment and supplies to fight COVID-19, including new and existing sources of supply—both here at home and internationally.

Below are examples of how domestic suppliers are stepping up to support the effort.

Bauer (Blainville, Quebec)

Bauer has shifted its hockey skates production lines to make face shields for front-line medical staff. The Government of Canada has signed an agreement to receive hundreds of thousands of face shields from Bauer.

Fluid Energy Group (Calgary, Alberta)

The Government of Canada has signed a contract with Fluid Energy Group for millions of litres of hand sanitizer to support the COVID-19 response.

To find out more about Fluid Energy Group: Fluid Energy making 10 million litres of hand sanitizer for the Government of Canada

General Motors Canada (Oshawa, Ontario)

General Motors (GM) Canada is using its manufacturing capability and skilled workforce to domestically produce surgical masks and face coverings. The Government of Canada has signed a contract with GM Canada to receive millions of surgical masks and face coverings for front-line health care workers.

Hawktree Solutions (Ottawa, Ontario)

The Government of Canada has signed a contract with Hawktree Solutions, a health and safety product company, to provide millions of masks and thousands of goggles and bottles of Quebec-made hand sanitizer.

To find out more about Hawktree Solutions: Hawktree Solutions providing the federal government with goggles, masks and hand sanitizer

HP Canada (Mississauga, Ontario)

The Government of Canada has signed a contract with HP Canada, which will use its 3D printing technology to provide hundreds of thousands of face shields to protect healthcare workers.

Irving Oil (Saint John, New Brunswick)

Irving Oil has retooled its production line to produce much needed hand sanitizer. The Government of Canada has signed a contract with Irving to provide hundreds of thousands of litres of hand sanitizer, with delivery already underway.

Jacobs & Thompson (Toronto, Ontario)

The Government of Canada has signed a contract with Jacobs & Thompson, which has added production lines to provide millions of face shields to protect healthcare workers.

Joseph Ribkoff (Dorval, Quebec)

The Government of Canada has signed a contract with Joseph Ribkoff, a Canadian women’s clothing company, to manufacture and provide millions of gowns for healthcare workers.

Logistik Unicorp (Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec)

Logistik Unicorp has mobilized its domestic supply chain and retooled production to produce medical gowns. The Government of Canada has signed a contract with Logistik Unicorp to provide millions of gowns for front-line healthcare workers.

Medicom (Pointe-Claire, Quebec)

The Government of Canada has signed a long-term agreement with Medicom to ramp up domestic production to provide millions of N95 respirators and surgical masks per year for the next 10 years.

To find out more about Medicom: Medicom Group supporting Canada’s efforts to combat COVID-19

PRI-MED (Edmonton, Alberta)

The Government of Canada has signed a contract with PRI-MED, a medical product manufacturing company, to provide thousands of coveralls and millions of gloves, gowns and surgical masks for healthcare workers.

To find out more about PRI-MED: Edmonton’s PRI-MED: A COVID-19 story like no other

Samuelsohn (Montréal, Quebec)

The Government of Canada has signed a contract with Samuelsohn, a men’s luxury clothing company, which has retooled its production lines to provide millions of medical gowns for healthcare workers.

SpiritRx Services (Winnipeg, Manitoba)

SpiritRx Services is an Indigenous owned company that has ramped up delivery of personal protective equipment and medical supplies to respond to both provincial and federal needs. The Government of Canada has signed a contract with SpiritRx Services to provide thousands of digital thermometers. The company is also providing the federal First Nations Inuit Health Branch with surgical masks and infrared thermometers.

To find out more about SpiritRx Services: Indigenous-owned company delivering essential goods to help all Canadians

Sterling Industries (Concord, Ontario)

Sterling Industries, affiliated with Honda, has created a face shield that is designed and manufactured in Canada. The Government of Canada has signed a contract with Sterling Industries to provide millions of face shields to protect healthcare workers.

Stryker (Waterdown, Ontario)

The Government of Canada has signed a contract with Stryker to provide Health Canada-approved sterilization units that will sterilize equipment like N95 respirators and allow it to be reused.

To find out more about Stryker: How one Canadian company extended the life of disposable N-95 masks

The Canadian Shield (Kitchener, Ontario)

The Canadian Shield was founded by InkSmith to produce personal protective equipment. The Government of Canada has signed a contract with The Canadian Shield to provide millions of face shields to protect healthcare workers.

To find out more about The Canadian Shield: The Canadian Shield playing a key role in supporting the Government of Canada

The Stevens Company (Brampton, Ontario)

The Government of Canada has signed contracts with The Stevens Company to provide hard surface cleaners made in Oakville, Ontario, and shoe covers made in Montréal, Quebec, as well as other items to help combat COVID-19.

To find out more about The Stevens Company: The Stevens Company is helping the Government of Canada in the fight against COVID-19

Toronto Stamp (Toronto, Ontario)

Toronto Stamp has retooled its usual production of signs, badges, stamps and tags to produce face shields. The Government of Canada has signed a contract with Toronto Stamp to provide millions of face shields for front-line healthcare workers.

To find out more about Toronto Stamp: From a WhatsApp message to a contract with the Government of Canada

Windsor Mold Group (Windsor, Ontario)

The Government of Canada has signed a contract with Windsor Mold Group, which has retooled its production to provide millions of face shields and thousands of head bands to protect healthcare workers.

WUXLY (Toronto, Ontario)

The Government of Canada has signed a contract with WUXLY, an outerwear clothing company, to provide over 1 million gowns for front-line healthcare workers.

To find out more about WUXLY: WUXLY: Warming to the made-in-Canada personal protective equipment

Yoga Jeans (Montréal and Beauce region, Quebec)

The Government of Canada has signed a contract with Yoga Jeans, a family-owned denim company that has retooled its manufacturing facility in Saint-Côme-Linière, Quebec, to provide millions of gowns for front-line health care workers.

Related links

Summary of changes: Personal protective equipment ordered and received between October 19 and November 2

Face shields

Gloves (pairs)

Gowns

Hand sanitizer (litres)

N95 respirators

Non-medical mask: Face coverings

Non-medical mask: Cloth masks

Surgical masks

Ventilators

Ventilator procurement

Context

Recent questions have been raised about domestic contracting for ventilators.

Suggested response

If pressed on domestic suppliers (Vexos, Canadian Emergency Ventilators (Starfish), CAE, FTI):

If pressed on FTI:

If pressed on FTI pricing:

If pressed on for the process that led to contract awards:

If pressed on corporate structure:

If pressed on pricing:

Procurement of COVID-19 vaccines

Context

Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) is working with the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), Health Canada and Industry, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED), along with the COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force to prepare for the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines and related supplies.

Suggested response

If pressed on Radio-Canada article stating the United States and United Kingdom will receive doses before Canada:

If pressed on the details of advance purchase agreements:

If pressed on the status of clinical trials or regulatory approvals:

If pressed on Moderna and Pfizer’s successful clinical trials:

If pressed on Canada’s participation in the COVAX facility:

If pressed on provincial and territorial collaboration:

If pressed on whether Canada will have adequate amounts of influenza vaccine doses:

If pressed on material shortages:

If pressed on national security exception contracting:

If pressed on the purchase of ultra-low temperature freezers:

If pressed on vaccine logistics:

Background

The Government of Canada has signed agreements in principle with the following companies to obtain access to their vaccine candidates:

Currently, no vaccines have been approved to prevent COVID-19. Many vaccines are in clinical trials or under development. When additional studies have been completed, Health Canada will review the evidence of safety, efficacy, and manufacturing quality for each vaccine to determine whether individual vaccines will be approved for use in Canada, before they are used to vaccinate Canadians.

COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force

The COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force, supported by a secretariat housed at the National Research Council of Canada, provides advice to the Government of Canada on COVID-19 vaccines, which can include the following:

The COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force will be in place for a period of at least 12 months, subject to extension at the discretion of the Government of Canada.

Procurement of serologic tests

Context

The Government of Canada launched the COVID-19 Immunity Task Force to measure the scope of coronavirus infection in Canada and provide information needed to manage the pandemic and safely get Canadians back to work.

Note

Questions regarding the mandate and activities of the COVID-19 Immunity Task Force will be responded to by the minister of Innovation, Science and Industry.

Suggested response

If pressed on funding and funds spent:

If pressed on why there are only orders for the Abbott platform:

If pressed on delivery locations and quantities:

If pressed on outcomes and next steps:

Background

Serology testing (collecting and testing blood samples for antibodies to SARS-CoV-2) of large numbers of people will provide the data needed to understand the scale of infection in the Canadian population.

This approach will help capture data about symptomatic individuals, as well as asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic people not previously identified as they did not seek healthcare. The importance of coordinated, rapid and representative national surveys cannot be understated. They provide critical information on the current spread of COVID-19, and help to prepare for possible future waves of infection, both in the general population or vulnerable groups.

Knowledge of the level of immunity in the general population, and in at risk populations such as the elderly and healthcare workers, will guide important public health decisions and immunization strategies once a vaccine becomes available. Serological testing is the key to developing this knowledge.

The COVID-19 Immunity Task Force aims to catalyze, support, and, where appropriate and feasible, harmonize the design and rapid implementation of population-based studies that will generate first estimates of COVID-19 immunity, overall and in priority populations across Canada. PSPC is working in close collaboration with the Immunity Task Force to identify any required procurement.

The task force will deliver a coordinated serologic survey agenda, and rapidly provide results to federal, provincial and territorial decision-makers as the basis for managing the COVID-19 epidemic in the near and medium term.

On May 12, 2020, Health Canada authorized the first of a number of anticipated commercial serological tests for COVID-19, which will allow the COVID-19 Immunity Task Force to focus on processes to initiate testing of samples in the serosurvey studies.

Rapid COVID-19 testing

Context

COVID-19 testing technologies are advancing quickly as the pandemic continues. On behalf of the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) is actively exploring additional agreements to secure access to the most promising candidates, in advance of regulatory approval.

Suggested response

If pressed on the delivery of Abbott Panbio and ID NOW tests:

If pressed on the delivery of Becton Dickinson Veritor tests and analyzers:

If pressed on distribution:

If pressed on purchasing before Health Canada authorization:

If pressed on the purchase of analyzers for the Abbott ID NOW:

If pressed on Precision Biomonitoring:

Background

Abbott Panbio antigen test

The Abbott Panbio COVID-19 antigen test is a rapid test that can detect SARS-CoV-2 directly from a nasopharyngeal or nasal swab in just over 15 minutes. It requires no instrumentation but must still be performed by a trained healthcare professional. This test is portable and lightweight and can easily be used in point of care in a variety of settings. The product does not require specialized storage temperatures.

While this contract is the first one put in place by Canada to procure antigen tests, more are expected. For this reason, we are not releasing the contract value at this time, in order to protect our negotiating position. In line with our commitment to transparency, the value of this agreement will be disclosed in due time.

On October 6, 2020, the Minister of Public Services and Procurement announced the purchase of up to 20.5 million Panbio COVID-19 antigen rapid tests. These particular tests, approved on October 5, 2020, are the first antigen tests to be approved by Health Canada for use in Canada.

Becton-Dickinson Veritor antigen test

The Becton-Dickinson Veritor SARS-CoV-2 antigen test is a rapid test that can detect SARSCoV-2 directly from a nasal swab in just over 15 minutes from patients that are within the first 5 days of the onset of symptoms. This testing requires a handheld analyzer and must be performed by a trained healthcare professional. This test is portable, lightweight and can easily be used in point of care in a variety of settings. It also does not require specialized storage temperatures.

On October 23, 2020, a contract was awarded to Becton Dickinson for the procurement of 7,599,990 Veritor antigen tests as well as 600 analyzers. The contract has yet to be announced.

Additional agreements have previously been signed with Biomerieux (up to 699,750 tests) and Inter Medico (1.2 million GeneXpert tests).

Abbott ID NOW point-of-care test

The Abbott ID NOW system is a rapid point-of-care test for COVID-19. The technology can detect the virus directly from a nasal swab, returning results in as little as 13 minutes. The testing device, or analyzer, is small and lightweight and can easily be transported to remote locations and operated with minimal training.

Abbott Rapid Diagnostics ULC is also supplying up to 7.9 million ID NOW rapid tests.

Spartan point-of-care test

The Spartan test involves inserting a cartridge containing a swab from a patient’s mouth into a test analyzer (Cube) that analyzes DNA for the presence of the coronavirus. The technology can detect the virus in as little as 30 minutes. The testing device, or analyzer, is small and lightweight and can easily be transported to remote locations.

On March 25, PSPC issued a contract to Spartan Bioscience inc. for the purchase of 1,020,000 tests and 100 testing platforms (Cubes).

On April 9, the original contract was amended to purchase an additional 900,000 tests and 600 testing platforms (Cubes).

Execution of this contract was conditional of Spartan obtaining Health Canada approval.

On October 29, Health Canada issued an investigational testing authorization to Spartan to conduct a clinical trial on their point of care test and generic swab, to obtain data to support its effectiveness. Health Canada approval is pending results of this clinical trial.

Delivery timelines

Under the current agreement of the Panbio antigen test, delivery of up to 20.5 million antigen tests will be completed by March 31, 2021.

The preliminary delivery schedule calls for 8,500,000 tests to be delivered by end of December 2020.

An option exists in the contract for the purchase of an additional 12.0 million tests to be delivered from January until March 31, 2021

Under the agreement of the ID NOW tests, delivery of 2.5 million tests will be completed by December 31, 2020.

Procurement modernization

Context

Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) is delivering on government commitments to modernize and simplify procurement.

Suggested response

If pressed on diversifying procurement (Black-owned businesses):

If pressed on Indigenous procurement:

If pressed on the Procurement Ombudsman’s annual report citing the “unnecessarily complex nature of the federal procurement process”:

Background

A substantial part of public investment is managed through public sector acquisition of goods and services, representing 13% of Canada’s gross domestic product (GDP) according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) data from 2015. This makes it a fundamental lever to achieving social and economic objectives.

The government has committed to modernize and simplify procurement, and to establish an electronic procurement solution. A key step towards this goal was the March 2020 soft launch of Canada Buys, our new electronic procurement system, as announced in budget 2018, at a cost of $196.8 million over 5 years. Procurement processes will also be easier, faster and more accessible for suppliers and buyers through:

The government will also support other procurement commitments including better vendor management tools, clear data metrics, and increased opportunities for Indigenous businesses.

Document navigation for "Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates: November 16, 2020"

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