Thank you, Mr. Minister. Thanks for being here.
Canadian innovators stepped up when asked to solve the shortage of PPE in 2020. Distilleries switched to make hand sanitizer and cleaning products. Canadian companies retooled and produced whatever was needed for the pandemic. However, Canadian companies like Eclipse Innovations in Cambridge, Ontario, have millions of respirators sitting on shelves as of this month. They can't move them, while some nurses and doctors in Canada are still saying they lack proper PPE.
Health Canada had announced a made-in-Canada change for companies that met the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, or NIOSH, standards to get Canadian PPE out the door, but so far this PPE is sitting in warehouses and not in our doctors and nurses' hands. This is because it was not properly communicated that the made-in-Canada designation would suffice in local hospitals and health care settings. Those settings are still procuring PPE from international and not Canadian companies.
Minister, what percentage of PPE procured by the federal government at this date is made in Canada?