Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you to the witnesses who appear here today. It's been very insightful.
Just to summarize quickly some of the key points that we have found so far, in the 2010-11 report the findings and concerns have yet to be addressed. No one has been held to account for what amounts to placing our health care workers and frontline workers, at the beginning of the crisis, at greater risk due to the lack of PPE.
We've also heard testimony today that there really is no set deadline as to when this will be resolved or what the concrete plans for moving forward will be.
Canadians are speaking, and they're speaking quite loudly throughout this. I think one of the greatest pronouncements that's been coming as a result of the pandemic as whole is the need for increased Canadian self-reliance. We need to expand our manufacturing capacities and our ability to make sure we secure PPE and develop more of our own PPE. I think all of us would agree that we want to, wherever possible, make sure that we are domesticizing our supply as much as possible for the very necessary PPE.
I think what has become challenging became evident even in the report that was issued last year. It was a briefing given to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry from the Canadian Association of PPE Manufacturers. That is a group of companies that have invested over $100 million of private money and hired over 1,000 people to increase the domestic supply of PPE and our capacity. They note that the government procurement practices favour a small number of large manufacturers in Canada. They also note that foreign suppliers abused an interim order that relieved them of PPE tariffs until fall of 2021, allowing the dumping of foreign products into our market.
Have the PPE tariffs been reinstated as of today? Can someone answer that for me?