Canada Donates Stockpiled Ventilators to Ukraine

Plastic-covered ventilators are seen in the hallway at the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg on Dec. 8, 2020. The Canadian Press/Mikaela MacKenzie

A portion of oxygen ventilators ordered by the Department of Public Works during the pandemic have been donated by the federal government to Ukraine to assist its war victims.

Ottawa stockpiled ventilators at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic—spending over $700 million on the equipment, which went mostly unused.

“One example of a recent divestment was the donation of ventilators to the Maple Hope Foundation,” said a June 19 health department briefing note obtained by Blacklock’s Reporter.

“This is a Canadian not-for-profit organization that works to provide medical relief in Ukraine.”

In a statement, the foundation announced it had acquired 30 battery-operated ventilators produced by Thornhill Medical, a supplier based in Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s constituency.

At the beginning of the pandemic, Thornhill Medical was awarded an exclusive contract worth $200.5 million. The ventilators were stored in Ottawa and few were put to use.

According to internal records from the Department of Health obtained by Blacklock’s, managers expressed reluctance over the Thornhill ventilator. One staffer wrote in an email that it failed to meet technical specifications. Concerns were also raised about the cost of the units. In 2021, health department officials declined to comment on reports the ventilators were billed at $138,106 each.

A 2021 submission to the Commons government operations committee by the Department of Public Works said ventilators provided by three contractors amounted to $720 million. Those manufacturers were Thornhill Medical, CAE Inc. of Montreal, and Baylis Medical Company of Montreal, a company owned by former Liberal MP Frank Baylis.

The contract was awarded to Baylis Medical despite the fact that the company lacked a federal licence for ventilator manufacture. Cabinet subsequently donated 350 Baylis units to India but neglected to modify them for use in Indian wall sockets.

CAE Inc. received a ventilator contract despite its machines failing tests on two separate occasions. An aide to the prime minister wrote an email to staff at the time reporting that their ventilators were still severely defective.

Ottawa placed rush orders for 40,547 ventilators in total, 27,025 of which were delivered within a year. The Commons government operations committee learned soon afterward that only 500 were used.

Baylis Medical announced last month it had donated 100 of its ventilators to Ukraine.

“In January, Baylis Medical Technologies signed an agreement with Maple Hope Foundation to service, at no charge, ventilators supplied by the Government of Canada and to help facilitate their shipment to Ukraine,” said a July 19 release.

“The Baylis V4C-560 ventilators were inspected, serviced, and configured by Baylis Medical Technologies to ensure immediate deployment upon arrival,” the company said.