The Public Health Agency of Canada is under fire again — this time for neglecting to maintain basic first aid kits for its 4,400 employees, a legal requirement under the Canada Labour Code. Blacklock's Reporter says a new internal audit reveals widespread non-compliance with occupational health and safety standards, echoing past failures that left the agency unprepared for the COVID-19 pandemic.Auditors found that 12 out of 20 sampled facilities operated by the Agency and the Department of Health had expired first aid supplies. In many cases, key health and safety requirements were also ignored, including incomplete bulletin boards, missed annual inspections, and inadequate emergency preparedness plans.“We observed the majority of sampled facilities had expired first aid equipment,” the Audit Of Occupational Health And Safety stated, offering no explanation for the oversight. The report warned that these gaps were not minor issues, emphasizing that a robust health and safety program is essential for protecting employees and maintaining productivity.Auditors noted that the departments have a legal duty to ensure safe working conditions and comply with all health and safety mandates.“As employers, the Department of Health and Public Health Agency are responsible for establishing, implementing and maintaining processes that promote safe working conditions,” the report said.This is not the first time the Public Health Agency has come under scrutiny. Created in 2004 as a pandemic preparedness unit after the SARS outbreak killed 44 Canadians, the agency has faced repeated criticism over the years for failing to maintain critical stockpiles of emergency medical supplies.In one of the most controversial decisions, the agency sent millions of masks, gloves, and gowns to landfills months before COVID-19 hit, in an effort to save $900,000 in warehouse leasing costs. A 2024 internal report admitted the agency “was not as prepared as it could have been” and cited “unaddressed problems with the systems and practices in place.”That lack of preparation contributed to severe medical supply shortages, which in turn led to nationwide lockdowns and $576 billion in emergency spending. A 2011 audit had already warned the agency to stockpile supplies as an “insurance policy” for future pandemics — advice it failed to follow.“No one ever wants to draw from that insurance policy because that would mean an undesirable event has happened,” stated a separate evaluation of the National Emergency Stockpile System.
