Selling expensive COVID-19 ventilators as scrap metal was called "the height of incompetence" by lawmakers in the Commons on Monday, says Blacklock's Reporter.Questions loom large over why brand-new medical devices, valued at $22,000 each, were auctioned off for as little as $305 for batches of 51, equating to a mere $6 per ventilator.Conservative MP Dean Allison (Niagara West, Ont.) lambasted the government's handling of taxpayer funds, stating, "Any government can promise to spend money... What they are terrible at is actually delivering and what they are absolutely incompetent at is managing taxpayers’ money in a responsible way."The sale of these ventilators, purchased under a $169.5 million contract, was confirmed by the Public Health Agency on April 22. The ventilators, manufactured by StarFish Medical Company, were sold in their original factory crates, still wrapped in plastic.Allison used this alarming incident as a prime example of federal wastefulness during a debate on Bill C-69, the Budget Implementation Act. This act seeks to raise the national debt ceiling to a record $2.13 trillion after 17 consecutive years of deficit spending.Highlighting the government's track record, Allison pointed to the total $720 million spent on sole-sourced contracts for COVID-19 ventilators, many of which ended up warehoused, donated abroad, or sold for scrap. He specifically referenced a $237 million contract benefiting Baylis Medical Company, owned by former Liberal MP Frank Baylis (Pierrefonds-Dollard, Que.).Responding to criticisms, Liberal MP Kevin Lamoureux (Winnipeg North) denied allegations of reckless spending, asserting that Canada's debt is under control. However, he did not directly address the ventilator program but emphasized the significant financial support provided during the pandemic."It wasn’t that long ago in which we had a worldwide pandemic... We literally spent billions and billions and billions and billions of dollars to support Canadians," Lamoureux stated.
