Quebec lost almost $1B on COVID-19 protective equipment: auditor general – CBC

Province paid sky-high prices for masks, gloves early in pandemic

May 11, 2022

Quebec’s unpreparedness and its delayed reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic led to the province losing almost $1 billion in its procurement of personal protective equipment, the auditor general said Wednesday.

The government waited too long and then rushed into purchasing items such as masks and gloves at high prices, Guylaine Leclerc said in her report released Wednesday.

By the end of March 2021, the value of the equipment purchased by the province had dropped by $938 million, she said. Of that amount, the province lost $671 million in the value of its stockpile and another $267 million connected to contracts for equipment and prepaid orders.

“The Health Ministry didn’t plan any measures to create a sufficient supply of personal protective equipment in the event of a pandemic, such as making prior agreements with suppliers or creating a stockpile,” Leclerc wrote.

“It was therefore forced to urgently purchase equipment to protect the population while prices skyrocketed.”

Quebec spent $1.4 billion on procedural masks and N95 masks alone, she said.

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-auditor-general-covid-protective-equipment-1.6449746