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There are many patriotic businesses across the country now assessing their operations to see how they can rise to the occasion. Good for them.

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However, as much as we need to focus on filling this shortage of goods, we should also take a moment to pause and ask how it happened.

Health Minister Patty Hadju has assured us that there is a national stockpile of emergency medical equipment, but they have been understandably tight-lipped on how much we have of which products and how they will be rationed and deployed.

It would be folly to assume right now that we will not soon become like Italy, where they do not have enough ventilators to keep the critically ill alive and are making tough choices about who receives care.

Canadian doctors are currently sounding the alarm that our health care system is lacking much needed supplies as we face an inevitable uptick in COVID-19 cases. They worry about everything from ventilators in ICUs to gloves for family physicians and specialists.

These were the concerns voiced by Dr. Kulvinder Gill, President of the Concerned Ontario Doctors, when she joined me on National Post Radio on SiriusXM Canada Talks Wednesday morning.

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One particularly troubling fact that Gill pointed out is that Canada very recently gave away 16 tonnes of medical equipment to China.

On Feb. 9, Global Affairs Canada announced that: “To support China’s ongoing response to the outbreak, Canada has deployed approximately 16 tonnes of personal protective equipment, such as clothing, face shields, masks, goggles and gloves to the country since February 4, 2020.”