Quebec's unpreparedness and its delayed response to the COVID-19 pandemic led to the province dropping virtually $1 billion in its procurement of non-public protecting tools, the auditor normal stated Wednesday.
The federal government waited too lengthy after which rushed into buying gadgets reminiscent of masks and gloves at excessive costs, Guylaine Leclerc stated in her report launched Wednesday.
By the tip of March 2021, the worth of the tools bought by the province had dropped by $938 million, she stated. Of that quantity, the province misplaced $671 million within the worth of its stockpile and one other $267 million linked to contracts for tools and pay as you go orders.
"The Well being Division did not plan any measures to create a ample provide of non-public protecting tools within the occasion of a pandemic, reminiscent of making prior agreements with suppliers or making a stockpile," Leclerc wrote.
"It was subsequently pressured to urgently buy tools to guard the inhabitants whereas costs skyrocketed."
Quebec spent $1.4 billion on procedural masks and N95 masks alone, she stated.
Leclerc informed reporters on Wednesday the federal government ought to have acted quicker to obtain tools, noting that the primary bulk purchases had been made on March 22, 2020, regardless of the actual fact the primary an infection within the province was detected on Feb. 27 of that yr.
"Quebec's plan towards an influenza pandemic was outdated," Leclerc stated in her report. "There was no measure put in place to facilitate the availability of non-public protecting tools within the occasion of a pandemic and several other staff lacked coaching on tips on how to use the tools."
The auditor's report famous that the federal government has launched lawsuits valued at $170 million in reference to orders for tools that was by no means delivered or defective.
"Confronted with the pressing must take motion, the federal government procurement centre did not all the time confirm the suppliers' integrity and the standard of the private protecting tools, which contributed to losses of almost $15 million," Leclerc stated.
"Good administration requires good planning."
Premier Francois Legault on Wednesday dismissed the criticism within the report.
He stated it is easy to "rewrite historical past," including that his authorities did what it might.
Well being Minister Christian Dube, in the meantime, defended the federal government by stating the pandemic was unprecedented.
"We realized lots from the primary wave, which took everybody abruptly," Dube stated in assertion. "This is the reason we put in place a plan for the second wave, which included having a reserve of 4 to 6 months of non-public protecting tools."
This report by The Canadian Press was first printed on Could 11, 2022
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