Meet the Liberals: Frank Baylis, the former MP embroiled in sole-sourced contract scandals

Frank Baylis wants to lead the Liberal Party of Canada. The same guy embroiled in one of the most flagrant conflicts of interest scandals in recent memory is now vying for the top spot in the party that gave us SNC-Lavalin and the WE Charity debacles.

It's so perfectly Liberal — he's so ethically challenged that he's giving Trudeau a run for his money. To learn more about Baylis and the other Liberal leadership contenders, go to MeetTheLiberals.com.

Now, let’s rewind the clock to 2020.

Frank Baylis, a former Liberal MP from 2015-2019, was at the centre of a major controversy involving his company, Baylis Medical.

This company was handed a $237 million contract to produce ventilators during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sounds noble, right? Wrong.

Baylis was no longer an MP, but he was still deeply entrenched in the Liberal network. And that contract? It was awarded without competitive bidding. Let’s call it what it was — a sweetheart deal for an insider.

Now, let’s dive deeper into the details of this scandal, which only get more infuriating the more you learn.

The ventilators in question, known as the VFC-560, were described as “new” and had not been approved in any jurisdiction at the time the contract was awarded.

Yet somehow, Baylis Medical was selected as a key subcontractor through FTI Professional Grade Inc., a consortium formed to fulfill the government’s alleged urgent need for 10,000 ventilators. This raises serious questions about the safety and efficacy of the devices procured for nearly a quarter of a billion dollars.

What’s more, Canada reportedly overpaid for these ventilators by up to $100 million. Each unit cost taxpayers $23,700, a far cry from the much lower prices of approved models from competitors like Medtronic. Was this about saving lives or lining the pockets of Liberal insiders?

But wait, there's more. Then Baylis got a contract to maintain the unused vents, to the tune of a further $4 million.

Then there’s the matter of conflict of interest. Frank Baylis had only recently left politics after serving as a Liberal MP from 2015 to 2019. Under the Conflict of Interest Act, former MPs are prohibited from taking improper advantage of their previous office.

But with Baylis Medical receiving this lucrative contract, it’s hard to ignore the appearance of favouritism. After all, Baylis has been a donor to the Liberal Party, and internal memos suggest there was direct communication between his company and government officials. How convenient.

Baylis himself appeared before the House of Commons ethics committee, where he denied any backroom dealings or influence peddling.

Just another Liberal contracting scandal. Throw it on the pile with ArriveScam and Randy Boissonnault's company, GHI.

And what happened to the ventilators? Many of these overpriced devices ended up unused. Reports indicate that some were sold for scrap metal at laughable prices, with units that cost $23,700 being offloaded for as little as $6 each. Others were donated to Ukraine as “war surplus,” with at least 839 units shipped overseas.

Fast forward to today, and Frank Baylis wants to lead the Liberal Party of Canada.

The arrogance is staggering. This is a man who’s already demonstrated that he’s willing to exploit his connections for personal gain. Does anyone seriously believe that he’ll suddenly transform into a paragon of virtue as party leader? Of course not. His candidacy is just another example of the Liberals’ culture of entitlement, where rules and ethics are mere inconveniences.

More of the same, I guess. But here’s the bigger question: What does this say about the Liberal Party itself?

Baylis’s decision to run isn’t happening in a vacuum. It’s a symptom of a party that has become so detached from everyday Canadians that it no longer even bothers to pretend to care about ethics. From Justin Trudeau’s multiple personal ethics violations to the WE Charity scandal, the Liberals have made it clear that accountability is a foreign concept to them. Baylis is just the latest in a long line of insiders who think they’re above the rules.

And let’s talk about what this means for Canada. The Liberal Party is still the governing party. Their leader will likely be the next prime minister unless Canadians finally wake up and demand better.

Do we really want someone like Frank Baylis at the helm? Someone who’s already demonstrated that he’s more interested in serving himself than serving Canadians? This is a man who’s benefited from backroom deals and insider connections. How can we trust him to make decisions in the best interest of our country?

Let me be clear: This isn’t just about Frank Baylis. It’s about the rot at the core of the Liberal Party. It’s about a government that has consistently prioritized its friends and donors over hardworking Canadians.

Visit MeetTheLiberals.com, get informed, and share it far and wide. Canadians deserve to know the truth, even if the Liberals don’t want you to hear it.

Now let's Meet the Liberals

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Sheila Gunn Reid

Chief Reporter

Sheila Gunn Reid is the Alberta Bureau Chief for Rebel News and host of the weekly The Gunn Show with Sheila Gunn Reid. She's a mother of three, conservative activist, and the author of best-selling books including Stop Notley.