The federal government has suspended shipments of N95 respirators from a Montreal based supplier that was outsourcing to China. In a shipment of around 11 million masks, 8 million were rejected.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the millions of personal protective equipment (PPE), that Canada receives, has to be of top quality for Canadian health care workers. Trudeau says the withholding and suspending of this particular supplier is proof that the system works, and they are testing all masks and items imported before they reach health care workers, because the government will not compromise on safety and protection. The Prime Minister explains there is a rigorous verification system, so items that don’t meet necessary specifications will find their way into the Canadian health care system. Trudeau says they’re looking into alternate uses for the masks but the government will also not be paying for masks that don’t meet the standards expected.

Trudeau adds every effort is being made to bring in as much PPE as possible for front line workers, including 23 different flights from China. He says the government recognized the need to produce equipment capacity domestically and that’s why many Canadian companies are now producing that equipment and they hope to be able to rely on them in the months to come and rely less on imports.