TORONTO —
As a critical shortage of life-saving medical equipment looms amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Canada is calling on its manufacturers to re-tool their factories in a “war-like effort” to help fill demand.
Doctors say Canadian hospitals are facing a shortage of supplies including ventilators, masks, gloves and gowns needed to protect healthcare workers as they treat the anticipated surge in COVID-19 patients.
“We are running short on supplies and given that we are just at the beginning of this crisis, we’re quite fearful of what is going to happen if we run out of supplies,” Dr. Michelle Cohen said in a Skype interview from Burlington, Ont. with CTV’s Heather Wright.
More than 60 doctors have written an open letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, premiers and health ministers warning of a medical supply shortage and urging them to “mount a war-like effort” to drastically increase production.
Trudeau has hinted at new measures to come, including involving industry and the military in the production of ventilators, masks and other personal protective gear, The Canadian Press reports.
“We’ve heard from businesses from coast-to-coast-to-coast who are telling us they want to help,” Trudeau said Thursday.
“Yes, we are considering using any measures necessary to ensure that Canadians and our health-care systems have the supports they need. We’ve already been engaged with industry on production and ramping up capacity to build and create more equipment. We will, of course, look at military procurement as a solution as well.”
The novel coronavirus has brought attention to the global supply of ventilators — medical devices that allow people experiencing difficulty breathing to receive oxygen.
As more cases are diagnosed in Canada, demand for the machine also increases.
Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association (APMA), said more than a dozen Canadian manufacturers are ready to retrofit their factories to produce medical equipment.
“With our capacity — like in wartime — all these factories can be mobilized to make everything from gowns and masks, to ventilators,” Volpe said.
However, Volpe says the businesses need specifications from the ventilator companies before they can get started.
“We have people, we have factories, we have the government, we just need the intellectual property,” he said.
The federal government says it is working to reach an agreement with medical device companies to produce ventilators.
According to a national study following the H1N1 outbreak, Canada had approximately 5,000 ventilators in 2015. It’s not clear how many are available in Canadian hospitals today.
Canada’s chief public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, said there has been no specific request for ventilators yet, but the federal government is trying to pre-empt that by acquiring supplies that may be needed as the number of cases surge.
Prime Minister Trudeau said the federal government is also expediting access to COVID-19 test kits and other medical devices.
Canada’s Health Minister Patty Hajdu reiterated, in a statement released Wednesday, that Canada has a stockpile of critical supplies that can be moved from province-to-province depending on need.
“COVID-19 is a rapidly evolving global health crisis, and we have been working around the clock with provinces and territories to make sure everyone has what they need to continue to detect and interrupt the chain of transmission,” Hajdu said in the statement.
The health minister’s comments came after the World Health Organization called on countries to ramp up production of protective gear and tests for the virus.
Health Canada has waived some of its usual regulatory requirements to increase supplies of hand sanitizers, disinfectants, swabs and protective equipment such as masks and gowns, The Canadian Press reports.
Due to “unprecedented demand” for such products, Health Canada said it will temporarily allow them to be sold in this country even if they don’t meet the normal regulatory requirements.
EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
