BRACEBRIDGE: The Ontario government is providing $2 million from the Ontario Together Fund to the Bracebridge-based company, Smart Safe Science, to make lighter, breathable, and more comfortable face masks.
This investment will help the company create 50 local jobs and when at full capacity, produce 200,000 made-in-Ontario masks monthly and build up regional personal protective equipment (PPE) manufacturing capacity to help protect healthcare and frontline workers across the province and ensure they continue their critical work during the outbreak of COVID-19.
Premier Doug Ford announced this week: “I always say we have the best and brightest minds anywhere in the world right here in Ontario. We’re proud to support innovative companies like Smart Safe Science who are making better medical-grade masks for frontline workers. Thanks to their efforts, Ontario will reduce and eventually eliminate our reliance on any other country for these critical health supplies because we can make them right here in wonderful communities like Bracebridge.”
Ford was accompanied by Vic Fedeli, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation, and Trade. Smart Safe Science will make a face mask that is lighter and more breathable to help avoid the common fatigue from wearing other types of masks for a prolonged period of time.
The filter used in the mask will be NIOSH 95+ certified, which is used in N95 masks. The company tapped into technical expertise at several Ontario universities, including Lakehead University, Laurentian University, McMaster University, and the University of Toronto.
Minister Fedeli said: We are supporting companies like Smart Safe Science so they can provide groundbreaking made-in-Ontario solutions.”
The mask comes with attachments that monitor body temperature while the person is wearing the mask. This technology will allow the user to connect a smart device in the mask to their phone using an app that will transmit critical real-time data about the user’s health status.
The mask will conform to the wearer’s facial structure, providing greater comfort and protection. Smart Safe Science is a subsidiary of True North Printed Plastics, a company that makes electronic interfaces for items, including airplanes, military, and medical equipment.
• Businesses and individuals looking to help in the fight against COVID-19 can submit their proposals through the Ontario Together web portal.