Thank you, Chair, and thank you, MP Angus, for your intervention.
The press release came out on March 5. The headline is “Baylis Medical is honoured to be recognized as one of Canada's Best Managed Companies for the third consecutive year”. It continues: “The prestigious award program, which is run by Deloitte”—not known as being a politically motivated group—“recognizes Canadian companies that invest in technology and sustainable practices, have strategic development processes centered around their core strengths and are committed to building a strong corporate culture.” It states: “Behind Baylis Medical's continued success is a longstanding culture of social interaction and collaboration amongst its employees.”
It continues:
“We are thrilled to have won this award for the third year in a row,” said Deb Douma, Vice President of Human Resources at Baylis Medical. “Personal growth, employee development and continuous improvement are at the forefront of the work we do every day. As a company, it's critical that we give our employees the necessary tools and support they need as they continue to improve the lives of people around the world.
This year, Deloitte deliberately reduced the Best Managed winners list to half (in comparison to the 47 winners in 2019) in order to continually evolve the program and increase [the] competition to showcase the very best across Canada.
Baylis Medical looks forward to further innovation across all areas of the business as it continues to grow its range of products, expand into new and existing markets and add to its workforce.
“The all-encompassing nature of Canada's Best Managed Companies program really speaks to the diverse work we do at Baylis”, said Kris Shah, President of Baylis Medical.
“From the conception and development, to the production and distribution of our innovative devices, every single person plays a role in the success of our company. I want to thank everyone at Baylis for the important work they do every day and for helping us win the Best Managed award.”
[The] 2020 Best Managed award winners will be honoured at the annual Canada's Best Managed Companies gala in Toronto on April 1, 2020.
It goes on to say:
Baylis Medical is a leader in the development and commercialization of innovative medical devices in the field of cardiology, with a focus on left-heart access. Headquartered in Canada, and with offices world-wide, our clinical solutions have been Improving the Lives of People Around the World for over 30 years.
Now, let's take a quick look at the contract that was given for the ventilators. Let's get it clear on the record from the onset that this contract was not with Baylis Medical. The contract was with FTI. Baylis Medical was not brought into the fold until after the contract was awarded. The Government of Canada is acting on the recommendations of an expert panel at the request of the Public Health Agency of Canada. PSPC officials awarded the contract to FTI for 10,000 ventilators. PSPC has no involvement with the agreements reached between FTI and its suppliers.
Let's talk a bit about FTI ventilators for Canadians. V4C, as stated:
is a consortium of entrepreneurs, philanthropists, industrial, technology and engineering businesses that have come together to identify and pursue solutions to help Canadians through the challenging COVID-19 healthcare emergency. Rick Jamieson coined the term “Ventilators for Canadians” and launched this website in March 2020.
The co-founders of the consortium are: Rick Jamieson, president and CEO of FTI Professional—