(Fighting New Crown Pneumonia) Global War Epidemic: Medical Supplies Tight, Canada Mobilizes Industry to Accelerate Production
China News Agency, Toronto, March 20 (Reporter Yu Ruidong) The Canadian government is mobilizing enterprises and manufacturers to accelerate the production of materials needed to combat the new crown pneumonia epidemic in order to cope with the shortage of medical equipment and materials.
On March 18, local time, the Yorkdale shopping mall in Toronto, Canada was deserted, and most of the shops in the mall have been closed. Photo by Yu Ruidong of China News Agency
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced an industry mobilization plan in Ottawa on March 20, local time, to support companies and manufacturers in the country to quickly increase production scale or adjust production lines to produce and develop medical personal protection, disinfection Products, technologies, including diagnostics, testing, and disease tracking.
The Canadian government will focus on helping companies capable of manufacturing masks, respirators, and hand sanitizers to increase production capacity, while providing support to companies that transform to produce medical and health products. Trudeau, for example, said the government will help companies from the Auto Parts Manufacturers Association switch from producing auto parts to medical supplies.
Major auto companies such as Ford, GM and Fiat Chrysler have recently announced that affected by the epidemic, North American plants, including Canada, will have to suspend operations.
This industry mobilization measure is based on the Canadian government ’s announced package of more than $ 1 billion in emergency response funds. The Canadian Strategic Innovation Fund, the National Research Council of Canada, and other innovation promotion agencies will provide support to businesses and promote the marketization of related products and technologies. The Canadian government promises to ensure flexibility in procurement.
Some Canadian companies have signed cooperation agreements with the government, including: Medicom, a medical personal protective equipment manufacturer and distributor based in Montreal; Spartan, a manufacturer of precision medical diagnostic equipment based in Ottawa; Thornhill Medical, a medical technology company based in Toronto that manufactures ventilators.
Trudeau also officially announced that the border between Canada and the United States will ban "unnecessary travel" for tourism and leisure purposes from the early morning of the 21st, but trade will not be affected. This limited ban is tentatively enforced for 30 days. At the same time, Canada and the United States have made reciprocal arrangements that will deny entry to "informal" asylum seekers.
The Canadian-U.S. Border has always been described as "the longest undefended border line in the world." The United States is Canada's largest trading partner, and the average daily bilateral trade volume between the two countries is about 2 billion US dollars.
Trudeau also said that the government is discussing with Canadian airlines on how to help Canadians stranded abroad to return home. There will be a flight back to Canada from Morocco this weekend.
Many Canadian airlines, including Air Canada and WestJet, have stated that they will significantly reduce international flights or even ground them completely. Air Canada has revealed that it will cut about 5,100 jobs in the near future.
Trudeau said that the Canadian government's service offices around the country have received more than 500,000 applications for help this week, compared with less than 27,000 in the same period last year. Canadian media pointed out that this shows that the epidemic is causing a lot of unemployment. (Finish)