Evidence of meeting #15 for Health in the 43rd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was response.
A recording is available from Parliament.
3:20 p.m.
Conservative
Tamara Jansen Conservative Cloverdale—Langley City, BC
What would be the total of PPE donations in the last five years?
3:20 p.m.
Vice-President, Health Security Infrastructure Branch, Public Health Agency of Canada
In 2014, for the West African Ebola outbreak, it was about 2.68 million dollars' worth. That included N95 respirators, gloves and coveralls. For Hurricane Harvey in Texas in 2017, it was about $10,000. That was really beds, blankets, pillowcases and bath towels.
3:20 p.m.
Conservative
Tamara Jansen Conservative Cloverdale—Langley City, BC
Did that all get restocked? I am assuming you had it in a stockpile because you needed it.
3:20 p.m.
Vice-President, Health Security Infrastructure Branch, Public Health Agency of Canada
We keep a minimum level in our beds, blankets and PPE. Our focus in terms of our rotation is on the antivirals and masks.
3:20 p.m.
Conservative
Tamara Jansen Conservative Cloverdale—Langley City, BC
What is your minimum level of stock on masks?
3:20 p.m.
Vice-President, Health Security Infrastructure Branch, Public Health Agency of Canada
I would have to.... We will be able to get you the numbers on what we had prior to going in, but I couldn't tell you a minimum.
3:20 p.m.
Conservative
Tamara Jansen Conservative Cloverdale—Langley City, BC
Okay.
Then I was just wondering what part you play with regard to procurement. Bill Matthews yesterday mentioned that PPE is being inspected in China before it ships and then inspected again in Canada. Then we found out from Ms. Hajdu that a bunch of masks that were recently shipped were not usable.
How does that work?
3:20 p.m.
Vice-President, Health Security Infrastructure Branch, Public Health Agency of Canada
There are two things. At the outset, in placing the orders for the procurement, we work to identify the specifications for those items that would be acceptable and usable and meet our standards, or alternatives that we're not accustomed to but that would also meet our standards and protect health care workers.
There is often a preliminary inspection in China, but when we receive things here, we have to inspect them—
3:25 p.m.
Conservative
Tamara Jansen Conservative Cloverdale—Langley City, BC
Do you expect, though, that if you are inspecting in China, you wouldn't necessarily have masks still arriving in Canada that were not usable?
3:25 p.m.
Vice-President, Health Security Infrastructure Branch, Public Health Agency of Canada
It would depend on the nature of the broker or the type of procurement.
3:25 p.m.
Vice-President, Health Security Infrastructure Branch, Public Health Agency of Canada
We have a bunch of different suppliers. When things come here, we do a visual inspection first. For instance, you look at a mask and you can tell if there are perforations where there shouldn't be. You pull the elastic and it's soft—
3:25 p.m.
Conservative
Tamara Jansen Conservative Cloverdale—Langley City, BC
Right, but are you doing that in China? I guess that was the question I had for Mr. Matthews. He said yes, and then we found out that masks that have arrived were not usable.
3:25 p.m.
Vice-President, Health Security Infrastructure Branch, Public Health Agency of Canada
Things can easily pass the visual inspection, but then we have to take them for lab testing. That's to check what goes through the mask, the permeability, both in terms of airflow and—
3:25 p.m.
Conservative
Tamara Jansen Conservative Cloverdale—Langley City, BC
Can those tests not be done in China? I know there are lots of labs in China.
3:25 p.m.
Vice-President, Health Security Infrastructure Branch, Public Health Agency of Canada
We prefer to do them here. It's good to have our National Research Council, our own testing and our own engineers taking a look at it. We're very cautious about what we send out to health care workers and we don't want them to be inadvertently put in a—
3:25 p.m.
Conservative
Tamara Jansen Conservative Cloverdale—Langley City, BC
Would it maybe help you avoid having things shipped that weren't up to snuff if you first did the tests in China, and then you could test again when they arrived here?
3:25 p.m.
Vice-President, Health Security Infrastructure Branch, Public Health Agency of Canada
The greater the quality control in China, definitely the better the quality we would receive here.
3:25 p.m.
Conservative
3:25 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ron McKinnon
You're right on the line. Thank you very much.
We'll go now to Mr. Kelloway.
Mr. Kelloway, you have five minutes.
3:25 p.m.
Liberal
Mike Kelloway Liberal Cape Breton—Canso, NS
Thanks, Mr. Chair and all colleagues and witnesses. I'd like to thank everyone for their kind words toward my province, Nova Scotia. It's been a difficult time.
With that in mind, I want to thank the Canadian Police Association and the corrections association for all you have done, all that you do and all that you will do. I am someone who is married into a police family. My father-in-law was a former chief of police here in Cape Breton and my brother-in-law is the current chief of police, and I have a lot of nephews who are in law enforcement. Your efforts have never been more appreciated than during COVID, but especially so during this time we are going through in Nova Scotia with the shootings in Cumberland County.
I have three questions. The first two are for the Canadian Police Association. I'll be succinct in the first one and hopefully equally succinct in the second one.
What particular challenges are you facing on the front lines, and what more can be done? You talked about the lack of communication or coordination among levels of government. I'm wondering if you an unpack some more challenges so we can look to where we can improve and what more can be done.
April 22nd, 2020 / 3:25 p.m.
President, Canadian Police Association
I think it's really important for the messaging to be consistent, starting with the federal government. That's why I think the federal government has a leadership role, then on through all of our provincial health officers and our elected officials provincially and then further through to the municipal level. One of the challenges in Canada with some of the jurisdictional issues is that each province is making its own announcements and that information has been trickling down to the people in the front line who are interacting with the public and the public are either receiving different messages or messages at a different pace.
When the police are expected to take enforcement action or engage with them, when the messaging is inconsistent, that creates conflict. The last thing we need in circumstances like this or in any circumstances is more conflict between the public and the police. We should have the opposite. That's why I think one thing that's been done really well is this focus on education and encouragement, rather than taking an enforcement approach first. I think that was a good strategy.
Finally, when we got that messaging and it was consistently being delivered from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and province to province, I think it was effective.
3:25 p.m.
Liberal
Mike Kelloway Liberal Cape Breton—Canso, NS
Thanks so much.
I want to dovetail that question and answer into this question. Do you find there's increased compliance with laws when warnings are issued rather than pursuing arrests? As you said, the focus now is more of looking at educating the public, obviously laying charges where there are serious cases, but playing more of a role in education. Do you see an increased compliance with the laws when the warnings are issued rather than pursuing arrests? Is it too soon to tell? What's the feeling among the rank and file in your association on that?
3:30 p.m.
President, Canadian Police Association
From my perspective, education is always the best first approach. We have to realize that we turned our society upside down. Literally overnight, we told citizens right across the country that they couldn't do things they'd always been able to do. Businesses were being closed down. People were struggling with the loss of their livelihoods. People were losing their jobs. I think in the midst of that, we needed to give people more information and focus on education as opposed to taking a very strident enforcement approach, particularly when most of the citizens that we're dealing with are normally law-abiding, taxpaying people who are also suffering from a high level of anxiety because of what's happening in our country.
3:30 p.m.
Liberal
Mike Kelloway Liberal Cape Breton—Canso, NS
There's no question—no question—that the level of anxiety is high, especially among law enforcement, so I appreciate that, sir.
My next question is for corrections.
What protocols are taken for corrections officers who are symptomatic? Could you dig a little deeper in terms of what leave options and support are being provided to those individuals?