Mr. Speaker, last March our government issued a nationwide call to action to companies across Canada to help fight COVID-19. Over 6,500 businesses and manufacturers stepped up and answered that call. They retooled their facilities and increased production capacity, collected and donated existing supplies and equipment and combined resources to manufacture needed supplies more quickly.
To celebrate these tremendous efforts, next week we will be celebrating our first-ever “made in Canada” week to say thanks to those who joined the fight against COVID-19. A number of these businesses, I am very proud to say, are based right here in Milton, companies like Keter, an international plastic product maker that began producing reusable face shields that were donated to long-term care facilities, hospitals and fire stations across the province; or Conovey, a major conveyor manufacturer and supplier based right here in Milton that jointly developed a specialized portable UVC sterilizing system that contains a built-in conveyor to sterilize N95 masks, phones, trays and numerous other products.
These are just some of the examples of the incredible efforts made by businesses right across the country that have helped us throughout this pandemic, and to them, I simply say thanks.