While the Public Health Agency publicly stated Canadians had no need for masks, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) from the earliest days of the pandemic knew of a “massive shortage” of masks that would have to be rationed, according to an internal document, according to Blacklock’s Reporter..“There is a massive shortage of personal protective equipment,” said a March 30, 2020 e-mail in the PMO..“Doctors and hospitals are saying they don’t have it themselves. We are going to have to make choices,” wrote staff..“Everybody wants it, we won’t have enough to go around.”.The e-mail summarized a teleconference between unnamed officials at the departments of health, transport and public works..“We have been trying to delicately tell our unions there isn’t enough to go around,” wrote a Department of Transport aide..“We will have to figure out how to help you manage that,” replied the Department of Health.. Feds knew of huge mask shortage early in the pandemic .“We can’t do specific guidance for every sector,” the e-mail concluded. Staff added: “We’re going to have to figure out who we prioritize.”.Cabinet did not detail medical supply shortages at the time..“Canada is among the best prepared countries in the world,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters March 11, 2020..Dr. Theresa Tam, chief public health officer, repeatedly said Canadians had no need for masks and claimed they were unsafe and “can lead to infections.”.As late as April 3, 2020 Tam said masks were not scientifically proven to prevent Covid infections..“It hasn’t been proven really to protect you from getting the virus,” she said April 3..Tam also advised:.• “There is no need to use a mask for well people” (March 28, 2020);.• “Putting a mask on an asymptomatic person is not beneficial” (March 30);.• “What we worry about is actually the potentially negative aspects of wearing masks” (March 30);.• “The effectiveness of the use of non-medical masks has not been well demonstrated” (April 1);.• “You have to be careful you’re not putting your finger in your eye” (April 1)..The Public Health Agency at the time said its guidance on avoiding masks reflected scientific evidence, a claim challenged by MPs on the Commons health committee..“I remember the chief medical officer saying that not only were masks not helpful, but that they were harmful,” New Democrat MP Don Davies (Vancouver Kingsway) told a hearing last October 9..The Health Agency in an October 28 report From Risk To Resilience omitted all reference to inadequate medical supplies and contained a single reference to masks:.“April 7, 2020: Council of Chief Medical Officers of Health issue statement supportive of wearing non-medical masks as an additional lawyer of protection.”
