Government Operations committee  I would say that the areas to work on are related to the evolution of where the equipment is needed now. The market demand for PPE, for example, is extending to the private sector as it returns to business. We need to continue the effort we've started so that, domestically, our businesses and organizations will have access, broader and beyond the health care system, to this necessary equipment.

Government Operations committee  I would just make the distinction that the department is not directly involved in procurement. That's obviously under the care of another ministry, but we certainly have used criteria to ensure that the work we've put forward into our own programming and those in the portfolio would lead to the outcomes that Canada was seeking.

Government Operations committee  Very importantly, in research, just one component of a very large portfolio of research support is delivered through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. In that case, those funds would be allocated based on scientific peer review. They would be assessing a range of proposals and obviously making recommendations for funding.

Government Operations committee  A significant program that we undertook in point-of-care test kits was through innovative solutions Canada, to bring forward new technologies from Canada to deliver point-of-care testing with more rapid testing and rapid turnaround, to try to compress the time scale between testing and getting an outcome.

Government Operations committee  Large-scale testing is largely run through provincial labs, obviously with a very high throughput. That's the number we read about in the media; daily testing is based on those lab tests. The point of care in rural and remote communities depends on being able to provide a result in place.

Government Operations committee  Medicom, under a letter of intent, will be providing supply to the—

Government Operations committee  We are, at this time, in discussions with Medicom in terms of support for its scale-up of Canadian operations. The information that the member has requested would be available at a subsequent point, and we'd be pleased at that point to be able to confirm that.

Government Operations committee  Dating back to the onset of the crisis and very significant activities in the early days to mobilize, we in ISED reached out to firms that had an interest to scale up Canadian production. Medicom is a Canadian-headquartered company that produces PPE, and they showed willingness to move forward on a plan that would meet Canada's time frame.

Government Operations committee  I would want to check our records to provide the precise date, but it would have been in late March. I would have to check our records to make sure that I provide the accurate answer to the member's question.

Government Operations committee  We have had discussions and continue, in fact, to have discussions with a number of large-scale PPE suppliers, those that provide the type of PPE that, for example, Medicom would. Those discussions are also ongoing, given that there's an interest in the economy broadly for a restart of the economy to increase the supply of PPE in Canada beyond the—

Government Operations committee  Mr. Chair, the answer to the member's question would depend on the time frames and the context for the exchange that—

Government Operations committee  I was referring to conversations with Medicom that date back some time. I would say that there have been conversations and a dynamic exchange with—

Government Operations committee  As a general question, of course, we've had conversations with many companies, so I would think the question as to what the deputy minister for PSPC said would have to depend, of course, on the precise question that was answered. We would want to go back and make sure we're checking our records to provide the most accurate response.

Government Operations committee  Okay.

Government Operations committee  In the case of contracts signed with domestic manufacturers, a number of these are already under way. If there was interest in further information on the state of deliveries and payments—