I'm going to take that question in two parts: the first relating to on-the-ground operations in China, and the second relating to quality control.
The very first point that we have to remember, and we cannot stress this enough, is that it's a highly competitive global environment and international logistics are challenging. We are working very closely with our embassy in China, as well as with on-the-ground logistics experts in the private sector to get supplies into the hands of health care workers on the front lines of the crisis.
This means that from the point of contracting to the point of arrival in Canada, we have a multi-stage process in place. Our Ambassador Barton in China and I are in almost daily contact about the situation in China, and in addition to private firms in China, assists us with getting the goods to the warehouse and then through the bureaucratic channels and on the planes and over to Canada.
We are ensuring we have a diversified source of supply. When I talk about diversity, I mean diversity of country, of manufacturer, of goods, of suppliers, and ultimately of air carriers.
As for the flights that have arrived in Canada, over 10 flights now have arrived from China. The goods have been successfully warehoused and are getting out to Canadian health care workers.
The second part of your question related to quality control. Without question, quality control is a concern for us. That's why we have quality control occurring in China as well as on the ground in Canada.
Once the goods get to Canada, Public Health Agency of Canada has testing measures in place. They're in place for the very purpose of ensuring quality control of essential products so that the equipment that is sent out is safe for our health care workers.
We do hold back some supplies that don't meet the medical testing standards. At PSPC, we're constantly adjusting our procurement approach to mitigate this issue at the outset. This is a key reason we're continuing to diversify our supplier base so that we're not drawing on one supplier only.
Our commitment overall is to supply a good product to front-line health care workers.