Former Liberal MP Frank Baylis stated that a sole-sourced contract for ventilators saved his company,  Baylis Medical Technologies Inc., during the pandemic. Records indicate this order resulted in a surplus of ventilators, which proved difficult to distribute. 

“It will be impossible to divest all the surplus Baylis units, several thousands,” the Public Health Agency (PHAC) wrote in a 2023 staff email. “The Agency needs to determine how long they are willing to continue paying for storage and maintenance costs.”

On April 10, 2020, the Agency awarded FTI Professional Grade Inc. of Guelph, Ontario a $237 million contract for 10,000 Baylis Medical ventilators, despite Baylis lacking a federal manufacturing license, Blacklock’s reported.

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Taxpayers paid Baylis Medical $23,730 per device. PMO memos reveal the Department of Industry approved the Baylis Medical contract in one day, with PHAC managers later complaining about the ventilator deal.

A September 17, 2020, memo stated, "The Government of Canada is heavily dependent on the FTI ventilator as the only Made in Canada ventilator that has received authorization from Health Canada to support resurgence requirements resulting in a number of associated vulnerabilities, e.g. delays, quality issues, user acceptance and recalls."

Meet the Liberals: Frank Baylis, the former MP embroiled in sole-sourced contract scandals

The former Liberal MP from 2015-2019 was at the heart of a controversy during the COVID-19 pandemic, when his company, Bayliss Medical, was awarded a lucrative sole-sourced ventilator… pic.twitter.com/CVsOaM1zDB

— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) January 16, 2025

Of 10,000 Baylis ventilators received, only 260 went to provinces/territories and 839 abroad as foreign aid; the rest are stored federally. To ensure the continuation of the gravy train for idling units, a $3.7 million maintenance contract with Baylis Medical was signed in 2023.

Despite “creative solutions” for redistributing ventilators, a staff email indicated “No interest” in the Baylis machines. Access to Information records censored taxpayer losses.

A 2023 memo revealed the Public Health Agency's resignation to storing unwanted Baylis ventilators, citing transport challenges, unit size, and low international interest in Canadian models as barriers to donation.

“Lessons learned,” said a 2021 memo. “Surplus biomedical equipment cannot be readily donated to other countries.” No parliamentary committee has since investigated ventilator contracts.

The Department of Health scrapped 14,187 of 27,687 pandemic ventilators, half of those purchased under $1.1 billion sole-sourced contracts. The specific loss per device was not detailed.

In 2022, then-Procurement Minister Jean-Yves Duclos secretly authorized the sale of new ventilators as scrap metal under the Surplus Crown Assets Act. Blacklock’s documented cases where new $22,000 ventilators were auctioned for as little as $6 apiece.

.@GovCanHealth bought so many Baylis ventilators they literally couldn't give them away.
Ex-Liberal MP Frank Baylis credited $237M contract with helping save his firm: "We re-mortgaged all our buildings."  https://t.co/LwBQSOxixQ #cdnpoli @orencsak pic.twitter.com/M1wW9fxb0C

— Blacklock's Reporter (@mindingottawa) September 9, 2025

Continued controversy follows the abrupt scrubbing of dozens of government web pages last month, detailing billions in payments to COVID-related contractors. The Department of Public Works provided no reason for deleting the pandemic accounts. 

Some 34 web pages had detailed line-by-line payments to mainly sole-sourced suppliers for goods from vinyl gloves to ventilators. Payments totalled $24,405,139,945.

In 2020, Baylis told the Commons ethics committee that his company, lacking cash, needed an advance from the Public Health Agency and re-mortgaged the factory to begin ventilator production.

Baylis Medical was acquired by Boston Scientific for US$1.75 billion in 2022.