Tracadie N95 mask supplier gets ready to double production
CBC
Fanny Pallot says the spark for her business idea came to her in the oilsands. Working in Alberta in occupational health and safety, she'd been tasked with sourcing protective equipment at the onset of the pandemic. "And I couldn't get the supply. I couldn't get the N-95s," said Pallot, now president of Alpha Medical Manufacturing. "They were challenging to get in Canada. "So I started talking to my very solid team about how can we make a respirator? What is it about this little piece that's so difficult to get here or to make?"
So far, they're available online and in some New Brunswick locations, including some Shoppers Drug Mart and Home Hardware stores, and at Jean Coutu.
Pallot had already planned to grow her output when Canada's chief public health officer urged Canadians to ditch their cloth masks.
In December, Dr. Theresa Tam told CBC News that cloth masks don't provide protection against Omicron.
Pallot said she's now waiting for a second manufacturing machine to arrive from China.
It will be capable of making 2.7 million masks per month. Pallot said she's also hiring. She said she'll need 40 people, including workers for a night shift. Pallot said she's not only happy to be home, she's also feeling good about creating some employment in the Acadian Peninsula. "For me, I'm very proud of my culture and proud of my roots," she said. "And I'm glad to have something to give."
P.E.I.'s Public Schools Branch is looking for 50 substitute bus drivers, and it'll be recruiting at three job fairs on Saturday, June 8. The job fairs are located at the Atlantic Superstore in Montague, Royalty Crossing in Charlottetown, and the bus parking lot of Three Oaks Senior High in Summerside. All three run from 9 a.m. until noon. Dave Gillis, the director of transportation and risk management for the Public Schools Branch, said the number of substitute drivers they're hiring isn't unusual. "We are always looking for more. Our drivers tend to have an older demographic," he said.