Sole-sourced fiasco, Part 2?

A company in Quebec was awarded $133.5 million in sole-sourced federal orders to manufacture PPE even though it didn’t have a factory in Canada.

AMD Medicom Inc. was given the 10-year contract and some MPs are demanding to see the terms of the contract, according to a report Tuesday by Blacklock’s Reporter.

“As small and mediumsized businesses, we want to know: Does everybody have the same opportunity to produce personal protective equipment and sell it or is the federal government picking winners and losers” Jocelyn Bamford, president of the Coalition of Concerned Manufacturers and Businesses of Canada, told the Commons government operations committee.

Records show cabinet signed its initial agreement with AMD Medicom March 20.

“Dating back to the onset of the crisis and very significant activities in the early days to mobilize, we in the department reached out to firms that had the interest to scale up Canadian production,” said Mitch Davies, senior assistant deputy minister of industry. “Medicom is a Canadian-headquartered company that produces personal protective equipment and they showed a willingness to move forward on a plan that would meet Canada’s time frame."