Former Liberal MP’s Surplus Ventilators Donated by Ottawa to Ukraine
Ventilators purchased by the Canadian government during the COVID-19 pandemic have been recently donated to Ukraine.
The machines were bought from Baylis Medical, a company owned by former Liberal MP Frank Baylis, and were in surplus storage.
An Inquiry Of Ministry response presented in the Commons stated, “The Government of Canada has declared a portion of these ventilators as surplus to program requirements and is advancing divestment in accordance with the Treasury Board Directive On The Management Of Material.” The report also mentioned that 206 units were transferred to provinces and territories, and 839 units were donated to India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Ukraine.
This is not the first time Baylis Medical has donated ventilators to Ukraine. In July 2023, the company successfully delivered 100 ventilators to the country.
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supplied by the Government of Canada and to help facilitate their shipment to Ukraine,” a company press release said.
During the pandemic, Canada’s ventilator stockpile grew from 500 to 27,000. Contracts were issued in the spring of 2020 to produce ventilators, but their use decreased by the end of that year as doctors found them unsuitable for certain COVID cases, especially
older patients with chronic conditions.
Stockpiling the ventilators cost $807 million, with Baylis being awarded a $237.4 million contract for them.
Baylis Medical Technologies, based in Mississauga, was not part of the acquisition and continued operations in Canada, producing medical devices for radiology and neurosurgery.
The government also mentioned that 368 Baylis ventilators were on loan to unnamed provinces and territories, and 206 units were given to Canadian hospitals.
In 2023, a $3.7 million contract was signed between Canada’s health department and Baylis for ongoing maintenance of the ventilators, which were to be returned to the stockpile warehouse after servicing.
Mr. Baylis himself was not investigated by the ethics commissioner as he had left Parliament six months prior to the agreement. “There were no reasonable grounds at this stage that the Conflict Of Interest Act might have been breached,” Commissioner Mario Dion stated.
Tara MacIssac contributed to this report.
