Federal health officials admit they cannot give away thousands of surplus ventilators purchased in a controversial $237 million pandemic contract tied to former Liberal MP Frank Baylis.Blacklock's Reporter says Access To Information records show Ottawa bought 10,000 Baylis Medical ventilators in April 2020 even though the company did not have a federal licence to manufacture them at the time. Only 260 were ever used in Canada, while 839 were shipped abroad as foreign aid. The rest remain stacked in warehouses at taxpayer expense.Internal emails reveal managers scrambled to offload the units, offering them to provinces, long-term care homes, the Coast Guard, and even professional schools for training respiratory therapists. “No interest,” read one blunt staff message..Despite the lack of demand, the Department of Health in 2023 signed a $3.7 million deal with Baylis Medical for ongoing storage and maintenance. A memo to the minister conceded that “the low interest for the Made in Canada models” meant the government was resigned to paying to keep thousands of unused ventilators.The Baylis contract was approved by cabinet in a single day, according to internal PMO memos. At the time, Baylis testified he had to remortgage his factory and needed upfront cash from Ottawa to cover payroll for 750 employees. .The windfall helped keep the company afloat, and in 2022 Baylis Medical was sold to U.S.-based Boston Scientific for US$1.75 billion.Baylis, who served as a Liberal MP for Pierrefonds-Dollard, later ran for his party’s leadership, finishing fourth in 2020.Access To Information files censored the total taxpayer losses from the ventilator stockpile.
