Ontario announces $50M for companies retooling to produce equipment to fight coronavirus
Posted April 1, 2020 1:21 pm.
Last Updated April 1, 2020 4:13 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Ontario has announced a new $50 milllion fund called the Ontario Together Fund to help businesses that are retooling to produce equipment and supplies to fight COVID-19.
In his daily briefing on Wednesday, Premier Doug Ford said since the launch of the Ontario Together website, businesses of all sizes and capacities have come forward with innovative proposals to retool their operations and produce vital supplies and urgently needed equipment.
Ford mentioned the government had signed a deal for 10,000 ventilators with O-Two Medical in Brampton, calling it a ” made-in-Ontario solution that will change the way this province combats the spread of COVID-19.”
“With the support of Canada’s largest automotive suppliers, we will make sure that this important life-saving equipment gets into the hands of the healthcare professionals who need it now,” read a statement on the company’s website.
Minister Vic Fedeli said the newly announced Ontario Together Fund will help those with successful proposals quickly pivot to manufacturing much needed supplies with a one-time payment this year.
The fund will be available to companies across the province to retool and build capacity quickly and efficiently, said Fedeli, adding that the most “viable and innovative proposals that provide the greatest benefit fastest” will be chosen.
Proposals can be submitted on the Ontario Together website.
Bruce Power, Canada’s only private nuclear generator, is donating 600,000 pieces of personal protective equipment intended for health-care workers across the province.
The donation of gloves, masks and gowns was announced on a radio talk show airing on a local Owen Sound, Ont., station this morning.
Protective equipment has been in short supply around the country, including Ontario.
Files from The Canadian Press were used in this report
