Hi everyone this is Sean SPM as I’m known in a few circles and welcome to the INNERView…and a brand new segment we are calling LET’S FACE IT
This is a podcast where we have typically spoken with musicians and a lot of people in the entertainment industry and so forth. And in general, it’s been a series of interviews conducted with a variety of interesting people talking about interesting stuff.
Real people… who stepped up to not only do the right thing but also attempt to pivot a business model in attempts to not go under financially and try to sustain a lively hood through the pandemic shutdown of everything else basically.
As you’ll find out as we unravel some of this it hasn’t necessarily worked out for everybody.
What was originally a dog’s breakfast of companies who applied for the temporary licence required to handle medical products, has now seen a huge drop-off as a lot of companies have not been able to hold out for government contracts and competing with big box takes bigger pockets than most.
So, we’re going to get a perspective on what that looks like for those who may have come and gone, and others who are trying to hold on…interesting to hear what strategy and path they have had to take to stay afloat in the PPE space in Canada.
And we’ll look into how the government of Canada has handled the brand-new PPE industry now at its doorstep. Complete with an abundance of millions and millions of Canadian-made certified masks gowns and other forms of PPE on the ground and ready to be shipped to… well…Canadians!!
And not a PO in site to back them up. Why is this? Why are government agencies seemingly still buying from foreign markets and under-cutting a market they asked us to prop up for them tut suite..!!
We’re going to talk to some supply chain brokers in Saskatchewan and Ontario and others manufacturing masks and other items on how they have been directly affected by this and exactly what they are doing about it.
We’ve already read mainstream media reporting on the mishandling of public funds in the millions being spent on PPE that was recalled and money and resources wasted.
In fact, we’re hearing there is an abundance of unworthy products from all over the country.
And people have had to tolerate this level of insufficiency over the past year. And as this thing drags on.. a lot of people are becoming more aware. As they should.
Because Let’s face it ..we’ve all had to get a little educated on face masks.
There’s been plenty of government PSA’s on how a mask should be 3-ply. Also, what makes up an N95 respirator and the flood of fakes in circulation. People are more aware that there is a difference in quality, and they want better protection now that they know.
I can also help you with this..!!
We’ll talk to some professionals we have met along the way and get another first-hand account of the landscape that is testing and certification of the raw materials and the other factors that go into getting a mask to an ASTM standard.
We’ll also go deep into some of the controversy around the government and Health Canada working trying to establish its own international standards. And how that may or may not compete or clash with existing organizations like NIOSH or the ( National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health ) which is a United States federal agency responsible for conducting research and making recommendations for the prevention of work-related injury and illness. And the one and only authorized facility to allow N95 and other regulated medical devices to enter the market.
So what the problem there you ask.. ?
Well since they are American, and we are in a pandemic… there are two problems actually.
There is a long queue for what is a comprehensive and involved process and secondly, they seem to not be in a hurry to give any sort of priority over an American counterpart needing the valuable certification completed so they can bring their product to market, and this has created a huge amount of backlog for companies.
That said, we’ll get a POV of how this all works from our new colleague Elon at Kinectric Labs in Ontario.
Crown Mutual Group has committed all of our testings to the great talent over at the Kenectrics laboratories and it would seem the federal government does as well because Kenectrics are the contracted facility that carrying out the new guidelines set by Health Canada.
It’s really fascinating stuff because it’s happening in real-time and there are things and people and tech being brought together at breakneck speed in order to meet the crisis.
I mean just to stand back a moment and realize… from the standpoint of the world mobilizing to a new level of problem-solving dealing with a global issue where the stakes are so high, it’s the stuff invention is born out of and if you look back historically it was typically after any kind of downturn in society it tends to swing back around into a need to create new ways of doing things.
And not to mention a time where a lot of creativity is born and inspired art is abundant.
Just tell me what you think most of this planet has been doing stuck inside for the past year.. Making stuff.!!
Ok so that’s what we are working on coming up for you on the INNER view and our new Segment was going to call Let’s Face It. I can’t wait to get started…I hope you’ll click in and check it out!
Thanks and see you soon SPM out!
