In an effort to ensure Canada never has to rely on other countries for vital personal protective equipment (PPE), the provincial and federal governments have inked a deal with 3M Canada for a domestic supply.
The partnership will see 3M's Brockville facility produce an additional 100 million N95 respirators a year. Ottawa and Ontario will each get 25 million of the medical-grade masks for front-line health-care workers each year for the next five years.
Both levels of government are contributing $23.3 million toward the plant's increased production.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Doug Ford were at the Brockville facility Friday to announce the deal.
"Our health care workers have been on the front lines of our country's fight against COVID-19 since the very beginning," said Trudeau. "While the virus remains a threat, we need to make sure these real-life heroes have the equipment they need. This agreement with 3M Canada highlights the Government of Canada's commitment to protecting those who are doing so much to keep their fellow Canadians healthy and safe."
3M's production boost will provide enough respirators to meet the private sector, provincial, and North American market demand throughout the pandemic and into the future, according to Ford.
"Ontario is a manufacturing powerhouse and our joint investment with the federal government and 3M Canada shows we can make the best N95 respirators anywhere in the world to supply our frontline heroes here in Ontario and right across Canada," said Ford.
The federal and Ontario governments will get their first batch of made-in-Canada N95s beginning early next year. In the meantime, Canada will continue to rely on 3M's global supply chain for the masks.
Thirty new jobs are being added to the Brockville plant as a result of the production expansion.
"The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of increasing the availability of N95 respirators in North America," 3M Canada President Penny Wise said. "We are extremely proud to deliver a made-in-Canada solution that strengthens the North American region’s supply of PPE for healthcare workers, first responders and those in critical infrastructure and industry roles."
Calls for increased, domestic production of the N95 respirator came early on during the COVID-19 crisis as Canada was left scrambling to acquire enough for its frontline health-care workers. The overwhelming demand for the product led to shortages worldwide and was briefly at the centre of a dispute between the White House and 3M. The Trump Administration had ordered 3M to save all of its stock for Americans in April. But the order received push back from the company due to the humanitarian implications withholding the medical supplies during a pandemic would create. An agreement was quickly established between the two sides that allowed the masks to continue to be shipped to Canada and Latin America.
A shipment of Chinese-made masks was turned away after they failed to meet Canadian quality standards.