‘By building homegrown capacity to make ventilators, we will never again have to rely on any other country for this critical piece of lifesaving medical equipment’
The Ontario government is investing $2.5 million through the Ontario Together Fund in Guelph-based Linamar Corp. to support the retooling of its assembly line to manufacture ventilator components to produce 10,000 Ontario-made e700 ventilators.
O-Two Medical Technologies partnered with Linamar Corp. and other partners, including Bombardier, to produce the devices.
“Ontario is the workshop of Canada, and it's the creativity and ingenuity of enterprising companies like Linamar and O-Two that will make Ontario-made medical equipment known for quality and excellence across the country and around the world,” said Premier Doug Ford. “By building homegrown capacity to make ventilators, we will never again have to rely on any other country for this critical piece of lifesaving medical equipment.”
In March, CBC reported that Ontario has roughly a dozen ventilators per 100,000 people during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Through the Ontario Together Fund, the government is delivering targeted investments that will increase the province's stockpile of Ontario-made products and personal protective equipment (PPE).
“Businesses like Linamar, O-Two Medical, and Bombardier have stepped up with solutions to help at a critical time,” said Vic Fedeli, minister of economic development, job creation and trade. “Ontario's economic recovery would not be possible without the collective efforts of everyone in every corner of this province. We applaud our world-class manufacturing sector for helping ensure the province has the Ontario-made solutions to respond to the needs now and any future emergency, should it arise.”
In December 2019, Linamar announced it will start manufacturing robotic medical devices as part of its diversification strategy, according to a Financial Post report. The company invested USD$5 million into Synaptive Medical Inc. and will manufacture two of the Toronto-based medical technology company’s patented surgical and imaging devices.
Ontario also previously funded locally-based CSA Group Testing & Certification Inc., a subsidiary of the Canadian Standards Association, to increase capacity for testing and certifying PPE, and launched the Workplace PPE Supplier Directory to provide businesses with information on PPE suppliers.
