At planetary hunting at masks |News

Our head of the political bureau, Alec Castonguay, documented the government's management of the crisis throughout 2020.He pulled a book, the longest spring, which appears these days.In this extract that we present to you exclusively, it tells the backstage of the world hunt for individual protective equipment, which will prove to be chaotic and of great complexity.In the tumult, two Quebec companies will stand out to supply Quebec at a critical time.

It is 2:30 p.m. on April 2 when the plane lands in Toronto, after leaving China, the day before.Its cargo, intended for Quebec, is precious: 600,000 N95 masks, 3 million procedural masks, nearly 100,000 pairs of gloves and 20,000 blouses.

At a press conference, François Legault speaks of a "risky, critical period", since there are around seven days of reserve of personal protective equipment (EPI).

For several weeks, it has been playing hard on the world market, where the shortage of EPI has competed in countries looking for equipment for their health workers.Order stories sold to the most offering the tarmac of Shanghai airport and diverted from their original destination are multiplying.France has had masks pricked by the United States, Italy by Turkey, Sweden by France ... Each time, the country pleads the error in good faith to calm diplomatic tension, but no one isis fooled.

Dany Gagnon, Vice-President of Chrono Aviation, a Quebec company that made more than 45 round trips between China and Canada with its cargo planes to pick up equipment during the crisis, had to hire agentsat Shanghai airport to protect its cargoes."It was brewing in Shanghai!"he exclaims.If you did not watch your goods, she could find herself on another plane in no time.It was walking with suitcases stuffed with silver to retreat the trucks to another device.»»

At the beginning of April, the price of PPEs flambé on a market which has become hysterical.The N95 mask, which is usually sold for a dollar, the unit, merchants seven dollars.The disposable medical blouse, which pays $ 1.75 normally, reaches the plump sum of $ 15 per unit.So much so that organized crime has been trafficking for PPE, a good way to whiten money anyway, governments agree to pay the cargoes in cash, which obliges civil servants to redouble their prudence.

Private investment funds buy large quantities of equipment to resell them at high prices a few days later.N95 masks, now as popular as diamonds, are exchanged by the age, without call for tenders, with multiple intermediaries who take commissions in passing.All orders are paid in advance.Suppliers leave customers from 24 to 48 hours to pay, otherwise the order returns to the market, at the auction.

« En mars et en avril, c’était la jungle, la folie !»» lance Marc-Nicolas Kobrynsky, sous-ministre adjoint au ministère de la Santé, affecté au printemps à l’approvisionnement international des EPI, en collaboration avec l’équipe de l’OSBL SigmaSanté, alors dirigé par Pierre Julien.The latter, now Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Center for Government Acquisitions, recalls a market on the stiff rope, with customers and suppliers made paranoid by unbridled competition."There were 180 countries that wanted the same case, with 52 American states and 10 provinces.We were trying to keep everything confidential, not to say the quantities and where we were going to look for the stock.There were fears to make it stole it in China or the supply chain.The provenance and the path that the equipment was taking, it was really secret.»»

It is in this tense context that Marc-Nicolas Kobrynsky decides to put all the odds on his side to protect his cargo on April 2, which is worth more than five million dollars: the convoy of four semi-trailers of 53 feetChartered by the Government of Quebec with Robert Group will be escorted by plainclothes police from the Ministry of Public Security, normally occupied in the protection of VIP visitors - visitors who are rare in Quebec in this spring when borders are closed.Between Toronto and Boucherville, where the Robert group distribution center is located, the goods, particularly the N95 masks, will be maintained under close surveillance.

« On avait entendu des histoires de cargaisons qui atterrissaient à Toronto et qui étaient mystérieusement réacheminées aux États-Unis, alors il fallait tout prévoir»», explique Marc-Nicolas Kobrynsky.

In the evening, when group handlers Robert unload the hundreds of boxes, they find that there are no N95 mask in the trucks!The supplier did not send what he had promised.

The Ministry of Health and Social Services will also realize during the following days that the three million surgical masks do not comply with Canadian standards, so they are unusable in hospitals."I made an escort a convoy that did not contain N95 masks and which included non -compliant procedural masks!exclaims Marc-Nicolas Kobrynsky.We got caught.»» Les masques de procédure trouveront quand même un usage comme couvre-visages adéquats dans un contexte non médical, par exemple dans des bureaux ou les transports en commun.

At the end of March, Marc-Nicolas Kobrynsky was sent to reinforce to Pierre Julien.Barely hired a few weeks earlier as assistant to strategic planning and performance at the Ministry of Health, he is catapulted at the head of one of the most important MSSS missions: find PPE to protect thehealth workers at the front. « Quand j’arrive, le feu est déjà pris»», dit-il.

Shaved skull, square jaw, beard of a few days, Marc-Nicolas Kobrynsky, 44, is a negotiator who does not let himself be imposed easily.He is always calm and walks in Complet-Cravate, like any good graduate of HEC Montréal and the London School of Economics. Je le connais depuis plusieurs années — il a déjà été collaborateur au magazine L’actualité de 2017 à 2019 — et le seul trait de caractère qui me vient à l’esprit pour le décrire est « gentillesse»».His air a bit patibular and his sense of humor pincers-rire are misleading.I have met someone who cares so much about the well-being of others and collective interest.

His reallocation, when he has just had his first child, is brutal, especially due to the time difference with Asia. « J’ai été embauché en février pour améliorer la gestion de l’information au ministère, et là, je travaillais jour et nuit à conclure des ententes avec des fournisseurs partout dans le monde pour sécuriser l’approvisionnement en matériel !»» lâche-t-il.

Marc-Nicolas Kobrynsky obviously did not have time to put order in the management of information in the MSSS before his temporary reallocation to the supply of EPI, but he quickly understands why his post as assistant deputy ministerwas created in February: there is no centralized system that allows the government to know the state of EPI stocks. « On naviguait à vue»», dit-il.

On March 20, the assistant deputy minister Pierre Lafleur wrote an email to all managers of the GESTRED system (computer system of the Ministry of Health) in the 34 CISSS, CIUSSS and other establishments in Quebec so that they manually lists the quantity ofMasks N95, procedural masks, blouses, gloves, discourages and visors whose establishments have.

Chaque matin, lorsqu’il se présente à la réunion de la cellule de crise, le premier ministre François Legault pose invariablement la même première question à Yvan Gendron et Danielle McCann : « Combien il nous reste d’EPI ?»»

The answer is often imprecise, since each of the CISSS and CIUSS makes its own accounting, and that some are more meticulous than others.Exponential consumption also makes the countdown difficult, without considering the many flights in establishments.

On March 27, Pierre Lafleur increased the tone in a new email."We invite you to examine this data, for which we observe certain irregularities that we find it difficult to explain. Compte tenu qu’il s’agit d’un enjeu crucial, nous vous demandons de rappeler à vos équipes que la rigueur dans la compilation des données est essentielle à la bonne conduite du réseau»», conclut-il.

At that time, Pierre Julien's team has placed dozens of orders for masks, gloves and blouses, but none arrives in Quebec.The pressure climbs.Sigmasanté has developed great expertise to negotiate with suppliers, but has no logistics experience to transport products so far."I was told:" We have for a million in order.”I replied:“ Hold for granted that it won't work.We're going to be at risk. Trouvez d’autres fournisseurs”»», raconte Yves Ouellet.

No less than 3,500 suppliers will offer their goods to the Quebec government during the spring.Of this number, less than 150 will be able to provide equipment."It was completely crazy.Just sort the offers that we received, it was tedious.We hired people for that, because we had to check, in case.We could not neglect any track. Il y avait tellement de monde incapable de livrer ce qu’il promettait»», dit Pierre Julien.

L’exemple du « deal de Détroit»» vient spontanément à l’esprit des fonctionnaires impliqués dans la chasse aux EPI.At the beginning of May, a businessman claims to have got hold of 10 million N95 masks, the rarest on the market, and that they are in a warehouse in the suburbs of the American automotive capital.After checks, the track seems solid.The governments of Quebec and Alberta wish to repatriate a million masks each to start-send 50 trucks at once to pick up the full cargo would arouse the suspicions of American border agents, the United States prohibiting the export of equipmentmedical for a few weeks to prioritize their own needs.

Sunday evening, Robert group, which has a distribution center in Toronto, sends four semi-trailers and their drivers sleeping on the Canadian-American border, in Windsor, so that they are ready to take the road to Detroit on Mondaymorning.D -day, everyone is nervous.On the border, the drivers tell customs officials not knowing what they are going to seek in the United States-which is not unusual for truckers-and vaguely evoke foodstuffs, without more precision.The tip works.

Once in Detroit, the drivers are ordered to wait for a Flying J road stopover, the time to receive new instructions.The hours pass.The radio silence is dragged.Around noon, one of the drivers gets impatient and heads for the warehouse he has the address.On site, he notes with surprise that the place is devoted to forest products, and that we do not find the shadow of an N95 mask!Joined on the phone, the intermediary swears that the masks are in another warehouse, but that we have to wait.At 6 p.m., still without news, the governments of Quebec and Alberta are withdrawn from the agreement.Trucks return to Canada, empty.

To reduce the counterfeiting of masks that is gaining momentum, the Chinese government obliges EPI exporters to be transitted by Shanghai Airport.The state centralizes customs clearance at this location to inspect the merchandise that leaves the country.Result: traffic explodes explodes.In April and May, Shanghai airport operates 400 % of its capacity.The control tower must manage more flights than normally, even if airspace is closed to travelers and commercial aviation has collapsed.

From the beginning of March to the end of May, China will export 50 billion masks, 10 times its production all year round.

Transporters cannot leave their planes on the ground for more than six hours, landing, supplies, loading of the goods and takeoff included, otherwise the Chinese authorities can seize the cargo and prohibit the aircraft manufacturer from returning to the spot. « C’était un véritable ballet d’avions dans le ciel et au sol»», raconte Dany Gagnon, de Chrono Aviation.

However, given that a line of several kilometers of truck stretches at the gates of Shanghai airport, it is not uncommon for a supplier to be stuck with his equipment far from the tarmac when the plane withwhich he has an appointment.Several devices that have elapsed the six -hour authorized will take off empty.

It seems that this situation will occur on at least two times for Canada - some sources tell me about three aircraft returned in the spring, without however being able to confirm it, however.On April 21, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau acknowledged that the strict Chinese airport rules were behind this imbroglio. « Il y a des limites extrêmes sur le temps qu’un avion peut rester sur le territoire chinois, et il y a eu des délais énormes en matière de transport des marchandises vers l’aéroport, et malheureusement les avions ont dû décoller sans avoir reçu leur cargaison»», a-t-il exposé en conférence de presse, ajoutant qu’il s’agissait d’un avion nolisé par le gouvernement fédéral ainsi que d’un appareil mandaté par une province qu’il n’a pas nommée — on sait néanmoins qu’il ne s’agissait pas du Québec.

Quand j’ai voulu en savoir davantage sur ces vols revenus sans leurs marchandises, Services publics et Approvisionnement Canada a soutenu que, lors des 21 trajets effectués par le gouvernement fédéral de la Chine vers le Canada, entre le 1^er mars et le 1^er mai, aucun avion n’est revenu vide à proprement parler."In April, a freight flight of goods chartered by the federal government returned from China without the goods planned on board. Toutefois, ce vol était rempli de marchandises appartenant à d’autres entités canadiennes»», a déclaré une porte-parole du ministère, sans plus de détails.Mystery, therefore, on these flights.

Unofficial method to get around this kind of situation, the bribes become commonplace in Shanghai.Crew managers disembark aircraft with US $ 10,000 in cash, in order to negotiate a faster petrol supplies or to grease the security agent who controls the entrance to the Trumac on the Tarmac.

C’est ce que Dany Gagnon appelle avec euphémisme « un pourboire au bon moment»»."If you are told that your plane will receive its petrol in six hours, and you know that it will make you miss your take -off window, well 100 or 200 dollars well placed will allow you to have your kerosene in time.It was the game. Il fallait la jouer»», dit le vice-président de Chrono Aviation.

Same scenario for customs clearance companies at the airport."Some could take 72 hours to split your stock, while others, barely a few hours. Il fallait les trouver et payer»», raisonne-t-il.

Chinese authorities will impose a host of administrative requirements and documentation to get the goods from the country.However, in March and April, Beijing changed the forms required every four to five days!The Canada Ambassador to China, Dominic Barton, with the support of Jean-François Lépine, will mobilize teams at the airport to ensure that the papers of the suppliers who do business with Canada are in order. « On se parlait chaque matin, Dominic et moi, pour coordonner notre stratégie aux douanes chinoises»», relate Jean-François Lépine, qui ne tarit pas d’éloges sur le rôle joué par l’ambassade canadienne en Chine."They were very effective in helping us find the papers and unravel the problems.The Chinese government is only dealing with other countries, so Quebec was not a priority for him.»»

In this planetary chaos, two SMEs in Quebec, without any experience in supplying medical equipment before the crisis, will save the government from a serious shortage of masks and blouses.

Vincent Thériault and his brother François, the co -founders of the over -sister -in -law clothing company began to worry about their business in January, when their suppliers in China had to close their factories due to the spread of the virus.

Then, in mid-March, it's Quebec's turn to be struck.Consumers desert stores.Confinement is installed.Balls and weddings, which represent a large volume of sales for overmeflies, will not take place.The company of 105 employees, founded in 2010 and growing until the crisis burst, vacillates. « On n’avait pas les liquidités pour durer six mois ; notre entreprise était soudainement très précaire, comme la plupart des détaillants»», explique Catherine Savoie, responsable des finances à Surmesur et conjointe de Vincent Thériault.

One of the company's subcontractors in China announces in mid-March that its factory will make masks in order to be able to reopen faster. « On faisait des blagues entre nous : peut-être qu’on pourrait offrir un masque à l’achat d’une chemise !?»» raconte Catherine Savoie.

However, the idea is making its way, and the possibility of importing procedural masks is essential in the discussions of the three leaders.But on March 18, Horacio Arruda advises the port of the mask in public. « Est-ce qu’on va se faire descendre en flammes si on commence à vendre des masques ? On ne savait plus si c’était une bonne idée»», relate Vincent Thériault, qui s’occupe davantage du volet ventes et marketing de l’entreprise.

In mid-April, Marc-Nicolas Kobrynsky managed to find blouses from a supplier in Mexico while Quebec is five days before the shortage.But he has no carrier to pick up the equipment.The assistant assistant has heard of chrono aviation and retains his services for this round trip.However, the journey does not take place as planned - not surprisingly, at this confused time.

Once on site, the Boeing 737 of Chrono Aviation awaits the order at Mexico City, but it is slow to arrive.The pilot and the crew chief wait for hours, without news.The supplier calls Marc-Nicolas Kobrynsky, in panic: the factory that makes the blouses lacked raw materials and was unable to prepare the order.However, he proposes to repatriate blouses from different places in Mexico, except that such an operation will take time.

Marc-Nicolas Kobrynsky calls Dany Gagnon, disappointed, and tells him that the plane will have to come back empty, for lack of stock. « Je vais laisser mon avion sur place, prends le temps qu’il te faut»», lui répond le vice-président de Chrono Aviation.Rare flexibility in the aviation world, where devices that do not steal cost expensive and bring nothing.Dany Gagnon reopens a small hotel to house the members of his crew, near Mexico City, and find a caterer to feed them.

L’opération « trouver de nouvelles blouses à travers le Mexique»» prendra… trois jours ! Lorsque la cargaison arrive enfin, les boîtes de toutes les grandeurs renferment des blouses de couleurs dépareillées, aux textures différentes et inusitées — certaines sont en plastique ! « Il y avait des blouses de dentiste, de coiffeur, de plein de couleurs, c’était laid à mort, se souvient Marc-Nicolas Kobrynsky.But I had no choice.That was where we lacked equipment for our health workers in the CHSLD.»»

As the Thériault brothers call Dany Gagnon to transport their tens of millions of masks, the number of orders climbed quickly to Chrono Aviation.Marc-Nicolas Kobrynsky and Pierre Julien do not hesitate to pass the word to their desperate suppliers. « Appelez Chrono, ils sont fiables»», disent-ils.So that the Boeing 737, converted into a cargo plane, is not enough soon to the task.The company then rents Airbus A330, A340 and even an A380, one of the biggest devices in the world. « On a enlevé les 471 sièges pour avoir deux étages pour mettre du stock !»» lance Dany Gagnon, qui sera le premier à ramener l’A380 au Québec, où il n’avait pas atterri depuis le dernier vol d’Air France, en 2012.

Surmesur obtains the permission of the Chinese authorities to load their masks from Qingdao airport - also called Tsingtao, like beer -, a 15 -minute drive from his office in China, so that Vanessa Huijuan can supervise the chain D'Supply and hire a team to fill the planes ... while avoiding chaos of Shanghai Airport. « On a pris un guess, tout le monde nous disait qu’il fallait passer par Shanghai, mais ç’a marché»», raconte François Thériault.

The masks are stored near the airport, in the same hangar as the telecommunications giant Huawei uses to store its phones before their shipment. « La place était très bien gardée !»» s’amuse Vincent Thériault.

Of the 45 round trips of China Aviation in China to collect PPE in the spring and summer 2020, around twenty will be made for Surmesur.In total, the Thériault will provide 2.5 million blouses and 185 million surgical masks to the Quebec government.

For these orders, the Quebec state paid to the Import and distribution division of over -errors, Terio International, the sum of $ 254.9 million in 2020.Among the 140 medical equipment suppliers who shared government contracts between March and December 2020, Surmesur ranks third, behind two big players in the medical supply: SMI International (392.8 million dollars) andSupermax Healthcare CDA (330.9 million).Not bad for a Quebec SME which mainly manufactured jeans, shirts and men's jackets before the crisis!

Not only overcome and chrono aviation avoided bankruptcy, but the two companies and their leaders have helped save lives by providing health workers in a difficult international context."They deserve a medal. Je n’ose pas imaginer ce qui serait arrivé sans eux»», dit Marc-Nicolas Kobrynsky.

The longest spring by Alec Castonguay

Quebec America392 p.

This article was published in the April 2021 news issue.

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