Canada's National Emergency Strategic Stockpile lost nearly $10 million worth of medical equipment after a warehouse flood in 2024, according to newly released internal documents that detail another costly setback for the federal emergency supply system.Blacklock's Reporter says a February 10 memo from the Public Health Agency of Canada says equipment stored at one of the stockpile's facilities was damaged by water during what officials described as an "external incident."The memo estimates the loss at $9.76 million.Among the damaged equipment were infusion pumps undergoing preventative maintenance, along with testing equipment including a test lung and air regulators used to inspect biomedical devices."Equipment held at a Strategic Stockpile facility suffered water damage due to an external incident," the memo states.The flood is the latest in a series of inventory management failures affecting the National Emergency Strategic Stockpile.It follows another incident in 2024 in which a freezer door was reportedly left open, spoiling $20.4 million worth of specialized drugs. The Auditor General is investigating that incident.The Public Health Agency said the emergency stockpile is Canada's sole supplier of specialized drugs and biological products intended to respond to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear emergencies.The agency operates 11 leased warehouses across Canada, although it does not disclose their locations. The memo does not indicate whether the flood and freezer incidents occurred at the same facility..The latest disclosure comes months after Public Health Agency officials acknowledged before the House of Commons health committee that more than $170 million worth of expired medical supplies had been purchased, stored and ultimately destined for disposal.According to documents provided to Parliament, the federal government is currently warehousing nearly 64 million expired pieces of personal protective equipment, including masks, gloves, respirators, face shields and medical gowns.Those items were purchased between 2020 and 2022 at a cost of approximately $150.7 million. An additional $20.1 million has been spent storing the expired supplies before their disposal.The agency has said it purchased more than four billion units of medical supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic to support provinces and territories, with more than two billion units eventually distributed. It says it continues to dispose of surplus inventory remaining from the pandemic response.The National Emergency Strategic Stockpile has faced repeated criticism over its management since audits found shortages of critical medical supplies during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.At a 2020 Commons health committee hearing, then-stockpile vice-president Sally Thornton acknowledged the agency was making "interim course corrections" as it attempted to address deficiencies in the emergency supply system.
