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WEDNESDAY,APRIL8,2020 | THEGLOBEANDMAIL O NEWS | A

Toronto is recalling more than
60,000 faulty surgical masks,
made in China and provided to
staff at long-term care facilities,
and investigating whether care-
givers were exposed to COVID-
while wearing the equipment.
The masks were distributed to
the facilities more than a week
ago and are being recalled after
reports of ripping and tearing,
the city announced Tuesday. The
incident highlights one of the
concerns Ottawa is trying to
guard against asgovernments at
all levels scramble to secure vital
protective equipment during the
COVID-19 pandemic.
Around the world, countries
have been dealing with defective
equipment, including Spain, the
Netherlands, Czech Republic and
Turkey, which reportedly re-
ceived faulty masks and tests
from companies in China. The
Public Health Agency of Canada
did not say whether it has experi-
enced similar problems.
On Tuesday, Public Services
and Procurement Minister Anita
Anand said Ottawa hired private
firms to provide quality assur-
ance before supplies are shipped
to Canada, and the federal public
health agency does further
checks before distributing the
goods. Provinces and cities are
also sourcing their own equip-
ment, and Toronto didn’t order
the masks through Ottawa.
Three of the city’s 10 long-
term care homes have confirmed
cases of COVID-19 and all of
them received the faulty masks,
spokesman Brad Ross said. Many
of the masks broke while staff

were donning the gear and the

city said the vendor is refunding

the $200,000 cost of the masks.

Fifteen employees at the city’s

long-term care facilities have

confirmed cases of COVID-19, but

Mr. Ross said so far the cases are

unrelated to the faulty masks.

The city says it now faces a

“significant shortfall” in surgical

masks and has asked the prov-

ince for help to expedite the or-

der. Ontario, though, is already

relying on Ottawa to help pro-

cure protective gear, such as

masks, gowns, gloves and face

shields, as demand for them

around the world outpaces sup-

ply.

Across Canada,governments

are trying to ramp up domestic

manufacturing to reduce re-

liance on international supply

chains, but it’s not clear when

that will scale up enough to re-

place or supplement global pro-

curement. Ms. Anand noted

some goods, such as masks, are

already being made here.

Complicating procurement ef-

forts is a White House order

granting the Federal Emergency

Management Agency the power

to block exports of those goods.

Late Monday, 3M Co., the suppli-

er of N95 face masks, secured an

exemption from the ban, but so

far, Canada hasn’t won a full ex-

emption from the order.

“There is still more work to

do,” Prime Minister Justin Tru-

deau said Tuesday.

American companies are “ma-

jor suppliers” of medical equip-

ment in Canada, andthe govern-

ment is trying to convince the

Trump administration to protect

Canada’s supply by pointing out

that the trade in critical medical

gear crosses the border in both

directions, Deputy Prime Minis-

ter Chrystia Freeland said.

A White House source said

Tuesday the Trump administra-

tion is not blocking any compa-

nies from exporting medical

equipment to Canada. The Globe

and Mail is not identifying the

person because they are not

authorized to speak publicly. FE-

MA, which has the discretion on

when to use the ban, did not

respond to a request for com-

ment.

From Washington on Tuesday,

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo

said his administration’s “focus

will be on keeping critical med-

ical items in the United States

until demand is met here.” How-

ever, speaking in the context of

humanitarian aid, he said the

U.S. is still providing assistance

abroad “because viruses don’t re-

spect borders.”

Ontario Premier Doug Ford

said Tuesday that the deal struck

between 3M and the Trump ad-

ministration is a “positive devel-

opment,” but the province is still

low on protective equipment

and wants to become self-suffi-

cient.

“We can’t count on other

countries. We need the federal

government to come through on

their commitments for supplies

to the province, and we need to

keep building our own capacity,”

he said.

So far though, only a fraction

of what Ottawa ordered has ar-

rived in Canada. For example,

new numbers show just 2.3 mil-

lion of the 75 million N95 masks

that the federalgovernment has

ordered will arrive by the end of

the week, and 16 million of out

230 million surgical masks on or-

der have been delivered.

Ms. Anand cautioned that

confirming an order “does not

guarantee a delivery.” To try and

ensure the goods arrive, embassy

staff and private firms have been

tasked with shepherding the

supplies through complex and

stressed supply chains, she said.

Asked when Canada started to

secure protective gear and

whether Ottawa failed to procure

enough equipment in advance,

the Prime Minister didn’t directly

answer the question.

“I think we’re seeing right now

that the entire world was unpre-

pared,” Mr. Trudeau said. “Some

places are facing far greater

shortages than Canada.”

To make up for any shortfall,

“we will be definitely relying on

domestic supply chains,” Ms.

Anand said.

Thousands of organizations

have already donated millions of

supplies, including gloves, masks

and gowns, Mr. Ford said, adding

more companies are coming for-

ward to help every day. But he

did not give a specific timeline

on when Ontario may be able to

fulfill its own needs.

“Is today better than yester-

day? The answer is yes,” he said.

Torontorecallsthousandsofdefectivesurgicalmasks

Cityinvestigating

possibleexposureto

COVID-19atlong-term

carefacilitiesthat

receivedfaultygearand

haveconfirmedcases

OntarioPremierDougFordcarriesaboxofASTMLevel3masksmadeinWoodbridge,Ont.,onTuesday.

Mr.Fordsaystheprovincehopestobecomeself-sufficientintheproductionofprotectiveequipmentasit

facescontinuingshortages.FRANKGUNN/THECANADIANPRESS

MARIEKEWALSHOTTAWA
LAURASTONETORONTO
ADRIANMORROWWASHINGTON

Wecan’tcountonother

countries.Weneed

thefederalgovernment

tocomethroughontheir

commitmentsforsupplies

totheprovince,andwe

needtokeepbuilding

ourowncapacity.

DOUGFORD

ONTARIOPREMIER