US EditionOttawa looks to off-load costly, seldom-used mobile hospitals bought for the pandemic
- The federal government is seeking to divest four custom-made mobile hospitals acquired during the COVID-19 pandemic, currently stored in Ontario as of May 2025.
- The pandemic’s second wave in 2021 prompted Ottawa to order these units urgently to support overwhelmed hospitals, but they were barely used due to complexity and staffing shortages.
- The units require extensive logistics to deploy, including up to 75 transport trucks and seven weeks to set up, while costing millions annually in storage and maintenance.
- In February 2024, a memo from Public Services Minister Jean-Yves Duclos declared the units surplus and authorized GCSurplus to sell or donate them to federal departments or eligible organizations.
- Efforts to off-load the units have been slow and challenging, with no other departments interested, suggesting continued costs and difficulty in repurposing these specialized health assets.
47 Articles
47 Articles
Ottawa Looks to Off-Load Costly, Seldom-Used Mobile Hospitals Bought for the Pandemic
The federal government expects to spend about $7 million this fiscal year to store and maintain four custom-made, portable hospitals that cost taxpayers more than $200 million to buy—facilities meant to bolster overwhelmed hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic that were barely used. Early on in the pandemic, as the federal government moved at breakneck speed to respond to a global health crisis, it issued rush orders for these Mobile Health Uni…
Winnipeg Free Press
Ottawa looks to off-load costly, seldom-used mobile hospitals bought for the pandemic
Breaking News, Sports, Manitoba, Canada
The federal government struggles to get rid of its expensive UMS - Canada French
OTTAWA—The federal government is planning to spend approximately $7 million this year for the storage and maintenance of four custom-made mobile hospitals, the acquisition of which cost taxpayers more than $200 million. These facilities were intended to support hospitals overburdened during the VOCID-19 pandemic—they were eventually used relatively little. At the beginning of the pandemic, while the federal government was working to respond to t…
The federal government struggles to get rid of its expensive UMS - Le Haute Côte-Nord
The federal government is planning to spend approximately $7 million this year on the storage and maintenance of four custom-made mobile hospitals, the acquisition of which cost taxpayers more than $200 million. These facilities were intended to support hospitals overburdened during the VOCID-19 pandemic — they were eventually used relatively little. At the beginning of the pandemic, while the federal government was operating to respond to the g…
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