Meant to ‘ensure organizations can continue to operate if they have short-term challenges in obtaining PPE’
The federal government has launched an Essential Services Contingency Reserve where essential service organizations can apply for temporary, urgent access to personal protective equipment (PPE) and other critical supplies.
“Across the country, organizations of all types are providing a wide range of essential services — from keeping food on our tables to caring for vulnerable populations and shipping goods from coast to coast to coast. Through the Essential Services Contingency Reserve, the federal government seeks to ensure that these organizations can continue to operate if they have short-term challenges in obtaining PPE when all other sources of supply are unavailable,” says Anita Anand, minister of public services and procurement.
“Canadians can rest assured that they will continue to have access to the essential services on which they depend as the Canadian economy continues to recover from the pandemic.”
The Contingency Reserve will serve as an emergency backstop to help organizations bridge short-term gaps in their supply of PPE. It will stock PPE and critical supplies, including KN95 respirators, surgical masks, non-medical cloth and disposable masks, gowns, face shields, hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes and gloves.
Full details are available here.
Months after COVID-19 began to spread in Canada, nearly four in 10 (38 per cent) workers still do not feel safe returning to their regular workplace, according to Statistics Canada.
