Thank you, Chair.
Thank you for the intervention, MP Barrett, and for your comments. I will say that all of the information I'm reading into the record today is, of course, public information, and my understanding is that it is the belief and the desire of said opposition members to look at FTI and to look at Baylis Medical because the individual happens to be and happened to be a Liberal. I'm bringing up examples of companies that are undertaking business for the benefit of providing personal protective equipment during one of the most unique and extraordinary periods of time in our modern history, the COVID-19 pandemic.
So, it's very important that we get this on the record. Canadians need to know that we are debating this and they need to know that people representing different walks of life, including different political parties, who contribute to the betterment of Canada, who contribute to our government in many different ways, whether they're chief of staff, former ministers or former members of Parliament, are contributing to fighting COVID-19, to ensuring that our front-line and essential workers receive the equipment they need and that, for people who actually unfortunately get COVID-19 or a COVID strain and need to be hospitalized, ensure that there is equipment on hand to ensure that those people are able to recuperate. These are very serious matters at hand. We know that across the world countries are really scrambling to ensure that they have an appropriate supply of ventilators, and I think we really need to be careful when we start looking at companies producing personal protective equipment.
Of course, I'm all for transparency and accountability. Again, I want to turn everyone's attention to Wazana Clothing and Jacob Wazana, its founder. It made a number of contributions and donations to the CPC in 2013 and 2014. Clearly, he is a supporter of the Conservative Party of Canada. There's nothing wrong with that, and I'm not sure that is at all relevant during a pandemic. During a pandemic, we wouldn't focus on the political affiliation of businesses. We would focus on made-in-Canada businesses that can deliver. I know a number of businesses in my riding have stepped up to the plate, and I've never said to them, “Are you Liberal or Conservative?”. I've just said, “Thank you”. Wazana has received nearly $100 million in government contracts during this pandemic to supply important personal protective equipment needed throughout this country, yet we do not see the proprietor of this company, Mr. Wazana, on our witness list to testify, because there is simply no valid reason to have him here.
My colleagues in opposition, I'm curious: Why do we not have someone who will receive that contract, much as other individuals or other businesses that may have owners or representatives with a political affiliation, on the list?
Where do we go with that? It just makes me think.
Let's focus now on another entity. Turn your attention to Trudell Healthcare Solutions Inc. George Baran is the executive chairman. What does he have in common with the other individuals and companies that I've mentioned? Well, he's a donor to the Conservative Party of Canada. His company received $18.1 million in pandemic-related spending. Mr. Baran generally supported colleagues across the way with donations in 2015 and 2016. The financial support to the Conservatives isn't limited to Trudell's executive chairman, Mr. Chair. Mr. Gerald Slemko, their CEO and a director on the board, has also donated over $3,500 to the CPC in the past. I wonder if they should be called before us in the coming days and weeks to provide insight in regard to their past political support, and how they think it relates to the recent government contracts they received.
I do wish to make this point, because the members of the opposition have raised this in the House of Commons. They mentioned Baylis Medical and they mentioned it repeatedly, and we may want to check Hansard to see how many times that's been mentioned and how many times—but not once have they mentioned any of these other companies.
It just strikes me as—I don't know if hypocrisy is the right term. Maybe it is. Maybe it's not. Maybe “selective referencing” is the right term. I'm not an English scholar, but maybe selective referencing or selective looking at companies or individuals. Breathe Medical Manufacturing is another Canadian company that stepped up during COVID-19 and manufacturers surgical masks. Again, I applaud them. I applaud every company that's stepped up, whether it's the Woodbridge Group here in my riding or any company across Canada that has assisted. Their company president, Warren Jones, donated $500 to the Conservative Party in 2017. I'm not sure how it would be relevant to have him testify, but if we keep up with the logic of my dear opposition colleagues, we should definitely call him to testify before us. The relevance of his appearance really isn't important.
Chair, I want to turn my colleagues' attention to another entity. BOMImed Inc. is based in the beautiful city of Winnipeg, Manitoba. BOMImed produces essential medical equipment and has received $12.5 million in government contracts for much needed medical equipment, which is being used to combat COVID-19. What the public and colleagues may not know, Chair, is that David Olivier, president of BOMImed, donated $1,500 to the Conservative Party in 2015. It's also not just Mr. Oliver. BOMImed's vice-president Brandon Guyot also donated to the Conservatives in 2016. Is any of this relevant to the procurement of needed medical supplies during the pandemic? Absolutely not. Of course not, but the opposition again, Chair, in the motion has referenced Baylis Medical, Frank Baylis.
I'm scratching my head, Chair—no, of course not—but the opposition doesn't mention companies like BOMImed because they cannot score or attempt to score political points instead of offering substantive policy prescriptions to Canadians to assist them to weather the storm and to reinforce the bridge on COVID-19.
We're talking about an individual company producing ventilators, much needed personal protection equipment for Canadians, and the only reason we're referencing that individual company is for one simple reason. An individual had the privilege to serve as a member of Parliament, in the last session of Parliament, from a company that is over 30 years old, employs literally hundreds of Canadians and is one of the best managed companies in Canada. That is what we should be talking about, and that issue would be applauded, independent of who this individual may support politically and what his beliefs are.
NMC Dynaplas is another great example here. NMC is a medical product manufacture company based in Scarborough, Ontario, not too far from where Mr. Dong is and not too far from where I am, and where we have some wonderful colleagues representing the five or six ridings out there.
They received a government contract valued at just over $2.5 million for the production of face masks. Company president Jason Foulds is doing a huge job producing personal protection equipment for Canadians including our frontline workers, the ones we applaud every day, the ones we care about and we purport to care about so much. What Canadians may not know about this individual is that he donated $1,000 to the Conservative Party back in 2010. What does that matter you may ask? Well, it doesn't. But Jason and his company stepped up during the pandemic and are helping to produce much needed medical equipment. Why haven't we heard his name before? Well, because he isn't a Liberal, and it doesn't suit the narrow partisan angle or interest of the opposition. That is why he hasn't been mentioned, Chair.
And Chair, in terms of the motion and the amendment Mr. Fergus put forward, we obviously worked with Mr. Angus, and conversations were had in terms of how we can come to a compromise. I believe we will eventually need to come to a compromise. We'll continue talking and coming up with ideas.
At the same time, I need to make the fair point of why I don't agree with what's in this motion and with the mulligan that was provided to another member of the committee.
It's a similar situation with regard to Ultra Manufacturing Limited, Mr. Chair. Ultra, like NMC Dynaplas, manufactures products with plastics and rubbers.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Waterloo-based company began manufacturing face shields and received just over $1.1 million from the Government of Canada to manufacture this essential PPE. Like for the other companies mentioned above, company president Joe DiAngelo is a past Conservative donor, having donated $1,500 in 2017. However, his past financial support for the CPC and his personal political preference have no bearing on whether or not his company receives, or does not receive, government contracts—and nor should they.
During this pandemic, Canadians, including Canadian businesses in my riding and in almost every single committee member's ridings that they have the privilege of representing, stepped up to the plate. They didn't ask if they were Conservative, Liberal, New Democratic, Bloc, Green or any other political party that may be on the ballot when election time comes. They just stepped up to the plate, and that's what Canada is about.
The last example I want to turn our attention to is that of a great iconic Canadian company called Stanfield's, which manufactures numerous clothing articles. The company can trace its origins back to Nova Scotia in the 1850s. Former company chairman and CEO [Inaudible-Editor]—