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The Chinese embassy in Ottawa claimed Monday that the one million faulty N95 masks that arrived in Canada from China last month were the result of a "contractual" issue that has now been fixed.
Canada however is thus far saying nothing about the matter.
Both Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland and Health Minister Patty Hajdu looked perplexed Monday when asked at their daily briefing about a statement posted to the Chinese embassy's Twitter account Monday morning.
"It's reported that (one) million face masks exported to Canada from China failed to meet proper standards for health-care professionals," the tweet said.
"The latest thing we've found out from communication with Global Affairs Canada is that the problem was a contractual matter and has been resolved."
Freeland looked puzzled and turned to Hajdu beside her shaking her head.
"We'll have to get details back to you," Hajdu said. "I'm sorry we don't have that technical information right now."
It was inspectors in Hajdu's department who rejected the shipment of N95 masks, which arrived in Canada in the third week of April.
Neither her office, nor Global Affairs Canada had provided any explanation as of Monday evening.
China and Canada disagreed recently on why two Canadian planes returned from China without the medical supplies they were sent to pick up. Trudeau said it was due to congestion at the Shanghai airport and strict limits on time crews spend on the ground. A spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry then said that was "inaccurate."
Canada is heavily reliant on China for securing enough personal protective equipment for health-care workers in the COVID-19 pandemic. It has set up a special supply chain system in Shanghai to secure the products in what Freeland has referred to as the "Wild West" of medical supplies.
Millions of N95 masks, surgical masks, gowns, swabs for COVID-19 tests, and other equipment have arrived in Canada from China already, and many have passed muster.
But on more than one occasion, in both Canada and elsewhere, including Finland, the Netherlands and Spain, Chinese-made products were returned when they failed to meet national standards. In addition to the N95 masks, Canada rejected a shipment of swabs for use in COVID-19 tests from China because they were mouldy.
N95 masks are so-named because they are supposed to protect against 95 per cent of small particles. Bill Matthews, the deputy minister for Public Services and Procurement told a House of Commons committee on April 24 the problem was mainly with the elastics that are used to secure the masks, not the filtration. He said it was possible they might be able to be used by workers not directly in contact with COVID-19 patients.
Matthews said the two companies involved in both the masks and the swabs were standing by their product and intended to make things right, but it is not clear whether those masks were replaced or if they were sent to other health-care workers.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 4, 2020.
Comments
It has been known for centuries that the Chinese social construct does not tolerate "losing face" This means that in matters under contention, the Chinese will always obfuscate, deflect, deny, responsibility for failure. Nothing has changed over the centuries. It has only gotten worse. Now, even the lowliest of peasant workers will harbour feelings of revenge in the eternal contest to chalk up a "win".
I have also been told that in business negotiations of the manufacturing sort, factory managers during the dickering will readily admit that their factory can replicate the product presented. When asked how much? The reply is unambiguous. "It depends". It depends which degree of quality the purchaser can tolerate. The Chinese manufacturer can produce something that looks like the original but will not perform as the original. The factory is also capable of producing a replica that willl outperform the original. It all depends on how much the purchaser is willing to spend. You get what you pay for.
Foreigners intending to use Chinese manufacturing capability, invariably want their "replica" product to produce much greater returns on "investment". This can only be accomplished by degrading quality. Chinese manufacturing has been so successful by playing these games with foreigners. Their profits are not shared with the workers (which is exactly what the foreigners are hoping to capitalize on) the profits enrich the small class of multimillionaire Chinese entrepreneurs. These multimillionaires know their profits are dependent on judicious sharing of profits with the ruling Communist leaders and with toeing the party line, furthering its objectives.
No successful Chinese corporation is immune to Party pressure. However there is a thriving class of middlemen, brokers, etc. who purport to smooth the way for foreign investors. An unknown percentage of these are outright con artists whose existence is ephemeral, who arrive and vanish in the blink of the official eye. Virtually unregulated by the party they further the sowing of chaos, confusion and financial loss among foreign investors. This nation is the epitome of "caveat emptor". Only the very largest of investors are likely to escape from Chinese involvement with skin intact. Bringing suit for financial/contractual malfeasance in China is a mugs game. This country does not recognize the sanctity of investor state protection.