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Canada’s once booming PPE industry is now ‘running on fumes.’ Why?

Published

2 years ago

March 16, 2023

Most Canadian businesses that answered federal and provincial calls during the pandemic to build up a domestic sector for personal protective equipment have collapsed.

The association that represents Canadian PPE companies says 90 per cent of those businesses have been forced to close or pivot to other industries because the federal government and Ontario have given contracts to a massive American company and a Quebec operation.

“We’ve got an industry that is just running on fumes,” Barry Hunt, the president of the Canadian Association of PPE Manufacturers, said in an interview.

“Most of them are out of business and the ones that aren’t out of business are going out of business quickly.”

A major issue, Hunt said, is large PPE orders the federal and Ontario governments placed with American company 3M, which has a facility in Brockville, Ont., and Quebec-based Medicom. Hospitals – who buy as larger groups – have also shut out domestic PPE suppliers, he said.

“There was a promise to procure at the end and that has never happened,” said Hunt, whose association has 15 companies remaining as members.

The scramble for PPE began in the spring of 2020, when governments around the world rushed to procure masks, gowns, gloves and other protective gear as COVID-19 spread. The virus hit Canada with full force in March 2020.

In April 2020, George Irwin answered government pleas to help. He paused operations at his family-owned toy company, Irwin Toy, to import masks to Ontario.

As many countries struggled to procure masks, Irwin’s connections in China, along with Air Canada’s help, allowed him to secure 2.5 million masks.

That success prompted both the Ontario and federal governments to ask Irwin to consider setting up a plant in Canada, he said. He crunched the numbers and believed he could make a better mask than the ones from China for about the same price.

He received about $2 million in grant money from Ontario and put in about $6 million to build a plant to make masks in Collingwood, Ont.

With his background in toys – a constantly evolving, innovative industry – Irwin worked with others and created an antimicrobial four-layer mask. He also created a reusable and recyclable respirator mask.

Irwin said he believed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Doug Ford when they said they wanted to create a domestic PPE sector.

But neither government has purchased a single mask from him, he said.

Irwin’s company went into receivership last summer. He could lose everything, including his home.

“I’m pissed off,” Irwin said. “We did nothing wrong, all we did was make a better product that’s been ignored.”

Others have similar stories.

Paul Sweeny runs Swenco in Waterloo, Ont., a business started by his father 60 years ago.

They make components for safety shoes and, in 2019, got into the N95 mask business after signing a distribution deal with a company in Singapore.

When COVID-19 hit, Sweeny sold a shipping container of N95s in three days.

“We decided right then and there, let’s get into the mask business,” he said.

Ontario gave him a $2 million grant, he said, noting the total investment in the business sits at around $6 million.

Sweeny now has 11 machines in his plant, a massive clean room, automated packaging and robots. The plant has the capacity to make upwards of 25 million masks a month and employ 60 people. But that isn’t happening right now.

“The plant is idle,” Sweeny said, adding he wants no more platitudes from governments.

“Just give me an order so we can get the machines operational.”

Hunt, of the PPE manufacturers association, said governments owe companies who answered the emergency pandemic call. Ottawa and Ontario may have provided funding and helped with research and development, but they haven’t come through with orders, he said.

“If the governments are never going to buy Canadian PPE, and you’ve asked all these companies to invest and develop all this stuff, then give them their money back,” Hunt said.

“Let them get out and transition to start something else.”

What really upsets many companies, Hunt said, is the announcement by Trudeau and Ford in August 2020 that they were investing $47 million in 3M to produce N95 masks for the governments over the next five years.

Hunt runs a company that makes reusable and biodegradable respirators – made from corn – with no hard plastic or metal, and believed after conversations with the federal and provincial governments that he, and other Canadian companies, would get business from them.

“We were totally blindsided by the 3M deal,” Hunt said.

The province’s Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery did not answer questions about the deals with 3M and Quebec’s Medicom, or if it planned to help the struggling PPE companies.

Spokesman Colin Blachar said it had created a stockpile of PPE from Ontario manufacturers and that “93 per cent of the forecasted PPE for the next 18 months will be purchased from Ontario or Canadian-based manufacturers.”

Public Services and Procurement Canada said the federal government took “an aggressive procurement approach” at the start of the pandemic to meet immediate and long-term medical supply requirements. As the pandemic has evolved, the government’s requirements for PPE have too, it said.

“We are grateful for all Canadian companies that answered the Government of Canada’s call to action to support the pandemic response,” spokeswoman Stefanie Hamel wrote.

“These efforts helped to secure domestic production of critical PPE and medical supplies that were urgently needed by front-line healthcare workers and helped to meet the most urgent and immediate demands for personal protective equipment.”

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Woodland with a 65 in Las Vegas is in contention for first time since brain surgery

Published

56 mins ago

October 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Former U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland finished 54 holes of the wind-delayed Shriners Children’s Open knowing he’ll have his best chance at winning since brain surgery more than a year ago. Best of all Saturday was being finished.

Woodland had three birdies over his final six holes and extended his bogey-free streak to 28 holes in polishing off a 6-under 65 that gave him a share of the clubhouse lead with Las Vegas resident Kurt Kitayama, who also had a 65.

They trailed J.T. Poston and Doug Ghim by one shot when play was suspended by darkness. Thirty of the 66 players who made the cut earlier Saturday did not finish.

Poston had an eagle during his closing stretch of the second round for a 65, and his only sub-par hole in the third round was an eagle on the par-5 ninth. It put him at 15-under par through 13 holes. Also at 15 under was Ghim, who had four straight birdies and was facing a five-foot par putt on the 17th hole when it was too dark to continue.

Woodland had surgery in September 2023 to remove a lesion on his brain, situated on a tract that caused fear and anxiety. It’s been a long road back of making progress with his health, getting dialed in on the right medication and trying to get his game in order.

He also went back to Randy Smith, the PGA Hall of Fame swing coach in Dallas. Now Woodland is sensing the pieces coming back together.

“I feel a lot better for one,” Woodland said. “That’s a huge help. But I’ve seen some signs. I’ve been back with Randy Smith for a couple months now. I am starting to drive it better, iron play, controlling the golf ball like I haven’t in a long time, which is nice. Then putts start going in, start putting some good scores up.

“I’m excited and happy to be here — and really happy to finish tonight so I can get some sleep tomorrow.”

The third round was to resume at 8 a.m., and Woodland likely will start around 11 a.m. That beats getting up before dawn, which he already has had to do twice this week.

Next to be determined is where he stands.

Harris English and Alejandro Tosti of Argentina also were at 14 under with four holes to play, including the reachable par 4 and the easiest of the three par 5s. Six other players were at 13 under and still had holes to play.

Taylor Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont., only completed 13 holes on Saturday and sits two shots back of the leaders. Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., is tied for 44th at 5 under. Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont., is tied for 61st at 3 under.

The wind has calmed substantially from Friday, when gusts approached 50 miles per hour and led to a four-hour delay that caused the stop-and-start and the last two days being suspended because of darkness. A TPC Summerlin course that was all about hanging on is now back to being a test of who can make the most birdies.

“Conditions will be pretty easy. I think you saw that with some of the scores,” Poston said. “Guys are making birdies. So I think it’s just trying to stay aggressive but also stay patient if the putts don’t fall early because there is a lot of holes left.”

The second round didn’t end until about noon Saturday and the cut was at 3-under 139. Among those who missed was Tom Kim, the two-time defending champion who was trying to become the first player since Steve Stricker at the John Deere Classic (2009-11) to win the same PGA Tour event three straight years.

Also missing the cut were the three winners in the FedEx Cup Fall — Patton Kizzire, Kevin Yu and Matt McCarty.

___

AP golf:

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Simple Plan latest Canadian act to get documentary treatment at Prime Video

Published

56 mins ago

October 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Simple Plan is getting the documentary treatment.

The Canadian pop-punk band will be the subject of a forthcoming documentary on Prime Video, which is slated to debut sometime next year.

Lead singer Pierre Bouvier announced the partnership on stage at the When We Were Young music festival in Las Vegas on Saturday.

The untitled film from director Didier Charette is currently in production with Sphere Media.

The movie will follow Simple Plan’s formation in Montreal in the late 1990s and the band’s early success, featuring never-before-seen archival footage and fresh interviews with the musicians and their contemporaries.

Simple Plan is the latest in a series of Canadian musicians to be profiled on Prime Video, after “I Am: Celine Dion” in June and “The Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal,” which premièred at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2024.

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In Israeli footage of the last minutes of Hamas leader’s life, some see a symbol of defiance

Published

56 mins ago

October 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

The world’s final glimpse of Hamas’ leader was rough and raw, showing him wounded and cornered as he sat in a bombed-out Palestinian home and faced down the Israeli drone filming him, hurling a stick at it.

For Israel, the scene was one of victory, showing Yahya Sinwar, the architect of Oct. 7, broken and defeated.

But many in the Arab and Muslim world — whether supporters of Hamas or not — saw something different in the grainy footage: a defiant martyr who died fighting to the end.

Clips from the released drone footage went viral on social media, accompanied by quotes from Sinwar’s speeches in which he declared that he would rather die on the battlefield. An oil painting of a masked Sinwar sitting proudly on an armchair was widely shared, apparently inspired by the last image of him alive.

“By broadcasting the last minutes of the life of Yahya Sinwar, the occupation made his life longer than the lives of his killers,” Osama Gaweesh, an Egyptian media personality and journalist, wrote on social media.

In Gaza, reactions to Sinwar’s death were mixed. Some mourned his killing, while others expressed relief and hope that it could bring an end to the devastating war triggered by the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel that he is said to have directed. Across the Arab and Muslim world, and away from the devastation in Gaza, opinions varied.

One thing, though, was clear. The footage was hailed by supporters and even some critics as evidence of a man killed in confrontation who at least wasn’t hidden in a tunnel surrounded by hostages as Israel has said he was for much of the last year.

Three days after he was killed, Israel’s military dropped leaflets in south Gaza, showing another image of Sinwar lying dead on a chair, with his finger cut and blood running down his forehead. “Sinwar destroyed your lives. He hid in a dark hole and was liquidated while escaping fearfully,” the leaflet said.

“I don’t think there is a Palestinian leader of the first rank who died in a confrontation (like Sinwar), according to what the leaked Israeli version shows,” said Sadeq Abu Amer, head of the Palestinian Dialogue Group, an Istanbul-based think tank.

Sinwar’s demise was different

Unlike Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in his hotel room in Iran, or the leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah group Hassan Nasrallah, bombed in an underground bunker by dozens of massive munitions, Sinwar was killed while apparently fighting Israeli forces, more than a year after the war began.

Iran, the Shiite powerhouse and a main backer of Hamas, went further. It contrasted Sinwar’s death with that of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, Tehran’s archenemy.

In a statement by Iran’s U.N. Mission, it said Saddam appeared disheveled out of an underground hole, dragged by U.S. forces while “he begged them not to kill him despite being armed.” Sinwar, on the other hand, was killed in the open while “facing the enemy,” Iran said.

In a strongly worded statement, the Cairo-based Al-Azhar, the highest seat of Sunni Muslim learning in the world, blasted Israel’s portrayal of Sinwar as a terrorist. Without naming Sinwar, the statement said that the “martyrs of the resistance” died defending their land and their cause.

In Israel, the army’s Arabic-speaking spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, described Sinwar as “defeated, outcast, and persecuted.” Many celebrated the news of the killing of the architect of the Oct. 7 attack.

Video posted online showed a lifeguard on a Tel Aviv beach announcing the news to applause, while Israeli media showed soldiers handing out sweets. Residents of Sderot, a town that was attacked by Hamas militants, were filmed dancing on the streets, some wrapped in Israeli flags. On Telegram, some shared pictures of a dead Sinwar, likening him to a rat.

But there were also protests from families of hostages and their supporters who want Israeli leaders to use the moment to bring the hostages home.

Some are energized, not demoralized

Susan Abulhawa, one of the most widely read Palestinian authors, said the images released by Israel were a source of pride. Israel “thought that publishing footage of Sinwar’s last moments would demoralize us, make us feel defeat,” she wrote on X. “In reality, the footage immortalizes Sinwar and galvanizes all of us to have courage and resolve until the last moment.”

In the Palestinian territories and Lebanon, some remembered him with respect, while others expressed anger.

“He died as a fighter, as a martyr,” said Somaia Mohtasib, a Palestinian displaced from Gaza City.

For Saleh Shonnar, a resident of north Gaza now displaced to the center, tens of thousands of Palestinians were killed. “Hundreds, tens of senior leaders were martyred and replaced with new leaders.”

In Khan Younis, Sinwar’s birthplace, mourners in a bombed-out mosque recited the funeral prayer for a Muslim when the body is missing. Israel has kept Sinwar’s body. Dozens of men and children took part in the prayers.

And in Wadi al-Zayne, a town in Lebanon’s Chouf region with a significant Palestinian population, Bilal Farhat said that Sinwar’s death made him a symbol of heroic resistance.

“He died fighting on the front line. It gives him some sort of mystical hero aura,” Farhat said.

Some Palestinians took to X to criticize Sinwar and dismiss his death in comparison to their own suffering. One speaker on a recorded discussion said there is no way of telling how he died. Another blamed him for 18 years of suffering, calling him a “crazy man” who started a war he couldn’t win. “If he is dear, we had many more dear ones killed,” one yelled.

In the long run, the think tank’s Abu Amer said that the effect of the support and empathy for Sinwar after his death is unlikely to change the Arab public’s view of Oct. 7 and what followed.

“Those who supported Oct. 7 will continue to, and those who opposed Oct. 7 — and they are many — will keep their opinions, even if they show sympathy or admiration for him. Most Palestinians are now focused on ending the war,” he said.

___

Fatma Khaled reported from Cairo. Julia Frankel and Ibrahim Hazboun in Jerusalem, Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations, Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran, Sally Abou AlJoud in Beirut, and Wafaa Shurafa in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, contributed to this report .

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