I want to thank all of the witnesses for being here today and for all of the work you're doing to help us get through this pandemic.
I have a few questions for Ms. Namiesniowski from the Public Health Agency of Canada regarding our nation's supply of personal protective equipment. I appreciated her comments in her initial presentation on the details of securing personal protective equipment. Thank you for that.
Of course, we are all hearing concerns about the rationing of personal protective equipment and the warnings of outright shortages in this country. This of course would lead to our frontline workers being unprotected. I understand that just recently, announced today even, the government has committed $2 billion to purchase medical equipment and supplies. That's great news, but it leaves me to wonder why the government would allow 16 tonnes of personal protective equipment to be shipped to China last month, leaving us here in Canada in a very vulnerable situation.
I have just a few questions regarding that shipment. Was it part of a formal contractual agreement? Did China promise to repay that shipment with an equal or larger shipment? If so, when was that repayment negotiated for?
Also, Ms. Namiesniowski, has the federal government either shipped or facilitated the shipment of equipment to other countries, and if so, to whom, when and how much?