Toronto Star

Ontario manufactur­ers retool to counter mask shortage,

Company received OK from Health Canada, await U.S. certificat­ion

- ROBERT BENZIE

In a bid to avert shortages of foreign-made medical gear due to COVID-19, Premier Doug Ford says Ontario manufactur­ers are stepping into the breach.

Ford on Tuesday touted a new locally made N96 respirator mask that is as good or better than 3M’s N95 masks in such high demand due to the pandemic. “We can’t only rely on the global supply chain right now. We can’t count on other countries,” the premier told reporters at a Queen’s Park teleconfer­ence. His comments came one day after Canada was granted a reprieve and will receive three million 3M N95 masks despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s embargo on such equipment. On Monday, Ford had warned Trump’s controvers­ial move could have led to Ontario having just a week’s supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) that can be life-saving for front-line health-care workers.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed earlier in the day that 500,000 of the 3M masks would arrive here Wednesday.

But Ford said Canadian companies “need to keep building our own capacity. We need to look after ourselves, we need to be self-sufficient,” stressed the premier, who did not give a timeline for when such autonomy could be achieved.

“Today, I visited Woodbridge’s manufactur­ing facility in Vaughan to receive the province’s first batch of personal protective equipment produced right here in Ontario,” he said. “Woodbridge together with the Automotive Parts Manufactur­ers’ Associatio­n has been working at an unpreceden­ted pace to retool their factories and get the required approvals to manufactur­e masks for our front-line workers,” said Ford.

Indeed, the Automotive Parts Manufactur­ers’ Associatio­n’s president Flavio Volpe has been criss-crossing the province in recent weeks to help firms retool to build vital gear to help in the fight against the pandemic.

“I was thrilled to see firsthand the fruition of their hard work and look forward to them ramping up production in the coming days to meet the demands of Ontario and soon other parts of the country,” the premier said.

“As the world faces a global shortage of medical equipment, Ontario-based companies have stepped up in a big way in order to ensure our front-line workers are protected against COVID-19. Their hard work is a true testament to what Ontarians are capable of when we band together. “

Ford stressed that Queen’s Park and Ottawa are still striving “to pursue and exhaust every avenue available to secure the PPE needed to fight COVID-19. (But) today marks the beginning of Ontario moving toward greater self-sufficienc­y on vital supplies that will keep us well equipped now and into the future.” Over the weekend, Woodbridge received approval from Health Canada to begin manufactur­ing “ASTM Level 3” masks that are designed for medical procedures where moderate to heavy amounts of fluid, spray or aerosols are produced.

That certificat­ion means the Woodbridge mask has equal or greater than 98 per cent “bacterial filtration efficiency.” The GTA firm is now seeking U.S. certificat­ion for its product, which will be manufactur­ed in Vaughan and Kitchener.

 ?? FRANK GUNN THE CANADIAN PRESS ?? Ontario Premier Doug Ford arrives to pick up a load of masks made by the Woodbridge Group in Woodbridge on Tuesday. He praised the locally made N96 respirator mask.
FRANK GUNN THE CANADIAN PRESS Ontario Premier Doug Ford arrives to pick up a load of masks made by the Woodbridge Group in Woodbridge on Tuesday. He praised the locally made N96 respirator mask.

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