Taxpayers were billed top dollar for Québec-made COVID-19 ventilators that were later discarded as scrap metal, according to Access to Information records. Blacklock's Reporter says a contract worth $231.7 million to purchase ventilators at $28,250 each was signed after then-Industry Minister Navdeep Bains had a private discussion with the company’s CEO.Records show CAE Incorporated of Montréal, formerly Canadian Aviation Electronics, received $231,650,000 for 8,200 ventilators, equating to $28,250 per unit. This was the highest price the Public Health Agency paid for any Canadian ventilator during the pandemic.“When it comes to CAE, it’s a great Canadian success story,” Bains testified during 2020 hearings of the Commons industry committee. “This is a company that is a world leader in flight simulations.”Despite never having manufactured ventilators, CAE received its contract on April 9, just days before Bains’ testimony. The devices later failed Department of Health safety tests.“I had the opportunity to speak with Marc Parent, the chief executive officer of CAE, and CAE had a great initiative,” said Bains. “They have the history, the technical know-how, the understanding. They were able to rehire people to help build some of these ventilators.”CAE rehired approximately 1,500 employees who had been laid off at the start of the pandemic and received a cash advance to manufacture the ventilators. The terms of the advance payment were not disclosed, though other firms received advances between $20 million and $40 million.Records indicate the Department of Health paid CAE a premium of 25 to 49% more than it paid other suppliers. The $28,250 per CAE device compared to $23,730 per ventilator from Baylis Medical of Montréal, $22,600 per ventilator from StarFish Medical of Toronto, and $18,993 per ventilator from Thornhill Medical of North York, Ont.“We went from a letter of intent to a purchase order, and now they will be delivering the ventilators in a matter of weeks,” Bains said at the time. “This is really promising news for us because we are in a position to help not only Canadians but possibly other jurisdictions and other countries as well.”None of the CAE devices were known to be used in any medical setting. Documents reveal that of the 8,200 CAE ventilators delivered at taxpayers’ expense, 8,180 — or 99% — were “slated for sale as scrap metal.” Records did not disclose what the Public Health Agency did with the remaining 20 devices.Government caucus members defended the CAE contract at the time. “Obviously Canadians needed to feel that ventilators would be accessible if ever the second wave were to come and they finally would need a hospital and extra help because of the virus,” said Liberal MP Emmanuella Lambropoulos (Saint-Laurent, Que.) during a 2020 hearing of the Commons ethics committee. CAE’s plant is located in Lambropoulos’ riding.“It was important for the government to take the necessary precautions and steps to ensure Canadians would be safe for the long term and that we would be able to offer enough medical equipment,” Lambropoulos added. Records show the Covid ventilators were immediately warehoused and then auctioned off as scrap metal as early as 2021.Lambropoulos did not respond to questions from Blacklock’s Reporter. Bains resigned from the cabinet on January 12, 2021, and left Parliament eight months later. He is currently an executive with Rogers Communications in Toronto.
