Minister of National Defence Harjit Sajjan is defending his department’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, following the release of government documents showing that he was briefed about the risk of the virus as early as Jan. 17.
It took 10 days following The Canadian Forces Intelligence Command briefing to Sajjan and 25 days after the Public Health Agency of Canada alerted federal departments and provincial health authorities of the threat of what was known then as a viral pneumonia for the Liberal government to formally convene an Incident Response Group.
The information outlining Sajjan’s early knowledge of the virus was detailed in an order paper question from Conservative MP James Bezan. Sajjan on Wednesday said his government made decisions throughout the pandemic based on “sound intelligence” but failed to answer more specific questions about whether the briefing note contained information about human-to-human transmission.As CTV News has reported previously, Health Minister Patty Hajdu was being briefed regularly by public health officials in January – largely talking points and question-and-answer suggestions labelled "confidential advice.
According to an economic analysis contained in a document obtained by CTVNews.ca labelled "senior level brief" on COVID-19, on Feb. 20, government officials made note of the estimated billions in economic losses the virus was poised to trigger. "The Canadian Forces Health Services Group placed a number of bulk and individual orders to supplement National Defence's medical-grade personal protective equipment stockpile. As of May 11, 2020, the Canadian Forces Health Services Group has received an additional 600 gowns, 1,500 surgical masks, 1,200 N95 masks, 224,825 medical-grade gloves, and 10,560 face shields," the document reads.
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