Cont…from above, & the reason I tried to just post a link:
Questions about Copps’ role first arose in April 2021, when federal correspondence released to a parliamentary committee showed she requested a meeting with then-procurement minister Anita Anand in March 2020 about masks from China. The meeting took place within days but did not lead to a deal.
Conservative MP Michael Barrett filed a complaint with the lobbying commissioner.
The commissioner’s office acknowledged receipt but declined further comment, citing privacy rules. It has not published an investigation report.
In March 2025, further correspondence obtained by the National Post under access to information laws showed Copps contacted Health Canada in April 2020 to offer COVID-19 rapid tests from South Korea.
It also revealed she urged workers at Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) to buy 3M-branded N95 respirators sourced from Vietnam by the Mumbai-based broker Bulk MRO Industrial Supply Pvt. Ltd. in July 2020.
And on Sept. 25, 2020, Copps helped arrange a meeting between BTNX’s CEO and Health Canada, according to the correspondence. A year later, the government signed the first of 15 contracts with BTNX, which would add up to $2 billion for 404 million rapid tests.
Health Canada, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada and PSPC did not respond by deadline to questions regarding whether Medipro approached them as a broker.
In its court filing, BTNX portrays Medipro as a persistent caller that acted without authorization.
Copps and Fitzsimons first approached BTNX in April 2020, the statement of defence says, offering to distribute a COVID-19 blood test that Health Canada had not yet approved and was not available.
According to the statement of defence, Copps then emailed Navdeep Bains, who was minister of science, innovation and industry at the time, and Mary Ng, who was then-minister of small business, export promotion and international trade, copying BTNX.
BTNX says it asked her not to contact federal officials.
On Sept. 24, 2020, Medipro again approached BTNX, the statement of defence says, this time offering to act as a broker. The defence says Copps booked the Health Canada meeting the next day.
BTNX says it and Medipro signed a two-year agreement on Oct. 8, 2020, backdated to Oct. 2. According to BTNX, the agreement gave Medipro non-exclusive rights to sell BTNX’s products in all countries except Indonesia, where Medipro held exclusive rights. Canadian federal and provincial governments were excluded, BTNX says.
According to Medipro’s statement of claim, Copps introduced BTNX to federal departments, Ontario and B.C. provincial ministries, and airlines and several pharmacies. In some cases, it says, she “facilitated” meetings.
In February and July 2021, BTNX says, it paid Medipro $3,510 for sales in Indonesia and Mexico.
In December 2021, a few months after BTNX signed its first federal contract, Medipro invoiced BTNX for US$5.4 million, claiming a commission fee, BTNX says. Two months later, Medipro increased this amount to US$34.5 million in a legal notice. Medipro filed its lawsuit the following year.
If the case moves forward, the outcome may hinge on whether the court finds the agreement legally enforceable, Shepherd said. If the judge concludes it involved illegal lobbying, the contract could be declared void.
Meanwhile, B.C.-based rapid test manufacturers Artron Laboratories and bioLytical Laboratories told the IJF in May that they had written to the lobbying commissioner or supported others doing so, calling for an investigation into Copps’ contacts with federal officials.
The companies said they laid off 630 workers in the Vancouver area in 2022 as Ottawa continued buying imported tests from BTNX.
Global News reported that Artron’s test was cheaper and Artron’s CEO told the broadcaster it was more accurate.
BTNX most recently landed federal contracts in 2024.
Medipro’s lawsuit remains active. If neither party takes further action by 2028, the court will close the file.
In Copps defence, I’m assuming she assumed that it wouldn’t matter if she got caught or not because it would be just one more Liberal scandal to be swept under the rug…& all the cool kids where doing it.
