Call to add ‘buy Ontario’ provision for local companies that pivoted to manufacture PPE

A manufacturer that pivoted to make personal protective equipment (PPE) during the COVID-19 pandemic amid encouragement from the government to do so is calling for ‘buy Ontario’ provisions to be added into public-sector purchasing.

“That tax base is going right out of the country to manufacturers overseas when we have the manufacturing capabilities right here in Ontario,” Andrew Glover, co-owner of Harbour Technologies, told CityNews.

“We’re competitive right down to the cents with imported gowns and most of our customer base moving forward is export, unfortunately … it can come down to one cent or a fraction of a cent.

“The procurement guidelines we feel should have some context that contains made-in-Ontario products for the hospital buying groups and that will really sustain the industry that we’ve already invested in with taxpayer dollars to create this industry.”

In the early part of the pandemic, the provincial government launched the Ontario Together Fund to bolster domestic PPE supplies. Businesses were asked to consider retooling in order to produce PPE due to shortages as a result of intense global demand.

RELATED: Ontario businesses that pivoted during COVID-19 to produce PPE still going strong

Glover said his company is “successful” in selling PPE to markets outside of the province, noting there are now more than 600 employees and subcontractors. But when it comes to selling in Ontario, he praised the creation of the provincial program but said the doors “are not open, so to speak.”

“It’s something we don’t want to do, but ultimately without any procurement changes that’s what’s inherently going to happen the next year or so or two years down the road,” Glover said, referencing a potential move to the United States.

CityNews spoke with Ontario Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli to ask about the issue. He said the government hasn’t fully moved in that direction due to World Trade Organization guidelines surrounding protectionism, but added they’re moving to help with incentives, training, and lower annual corporate taxes and associated costs.

He went on to say approximately 74 per cent of all PPE bought by the provincial government is made in Ontario or elsewhere in Canada. Fedeli said the Ontario government just closed a competitive bid for medical masks and that three companies in the province each got orders for 250 million pieces over the span of five years.

“We say to everybody, ‘Sharpen your pencils, it’s a competitive procurement (and) we want the best deal for the taxpayer,'” he said.

To date, Fedeli said there have been around 50 investments made through the Ontario Together fund — including one on Thursday to support saliva-based COVID-19 test kit manufacturing.