‘WE NEED TO BE READY,’ PM SAYS

Canadian firms to build 30,000 new ventilators

• A group of Canadian companies promises to deliver up to 30,000 ventilators to the federal government within the next few weeks, though Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hopes we won’t need them all.

“As countries around the world grapple with this pandemic, the demand for critical supplies like test kits, ventilators and personal protection equipment is going up to keep our frontline workers safe and care for Canadians with COVID-19. We need a stable supply of these products and that means making them at home,” Trudeau said during his daily press conference on Tuesday.

Thornhill Medical, CAE, Ventilators for Canadians and a group led by Starfish Medical are the companies who have committed to producing the 30,000 new “made-in-Canada” ventilators. The first devices should arrive within the next few weeks, with the entirety of the order coming in over the course of a few months.

These are in addition to the 10,500 devices that have already been ordered from an Ontario company in the last weeks.

Is ordering 30,000 ventilators a window into the scope of the expected flood of COVID-19 patients into the nation’s hospitals, considering that there are only roughly 5,000 throughout the country?

Not necessarily, but the country is preparing for the worst-case scenario, the prime minister said.

“We need to be ready for any circumstances and every circumstances. And the opportunity to make sure that we have ventilators available if we need them is going to be extremely important,” said Trudeau.

“We certainly hope that we won’t be needing all these ventilators."