$112,204.38

That's the bill for Plexiglas at Employment and Social Development Canada as contained in a detailed response Conservative MP Tom Kmiec received when he asked government departments to detail purchases for the germ blocking material. ESDC runs Service Canada offices across the country where people can go for benefit payments. While the offices were closed for months early in the pandemic, they began to reopen in July so Canadians could make claims in person. To do that evidently required a lot of clear barriers between the public and employees. Minister Ahmed Hussen said when he announced the reopening that the agency would be doing so gradually, with the Plexiglas and other sanitary measures in place. According to the agency's website, in normal times, they see as many as eight million visits a year. The agency was the biggest spender on Plexiglas, but it wasn't alone. Many government departments spent on the clear dividers, including Heritage Canada which spent $2,155.78, the CRTC spent $5,927.46 and Health Canada, $6,808.75.