‘How many other people's health and lives have been put at risk?’
Ontario's New Democratic Party is calling on Health Canada to inspect three Grifols plasma collection centres that received federal licences last year without ever being reviewed by inspectors.
Grifols opened five locations across Ontario in 2025 — in Whitby, Hamilton, Cambridge and two in Toronto. The Globe and Mail reported that Health Canada inspected the Whitby and Hamilton sites before they opened in early 2025, but the three remaining centres opened during the summer with no pre-licensing review.
Health Canada spokesperson André Gagnon said a pre-inspection "before activities commence, is not required when licenced blood establishments in Canada are opening a new site."
Provincial concerns and documented deficiencies
Ontario NDP MPP France Gélinas, her party's health critic, said the federal regulator should inspect the Toronto and Cambridge facilities immediately. "How many other people's health and lives have been put at risk?" she said.
Internal government correspondence obtained under Nova Scotia's access-to-information law and reported by The Globe and Mail suggests Ontario officials have privately questioned the lack of inspections.
In a Feb. 24 e-mail, Pamela Leclerc, senior strategist for the national blood file at Nova Scotia's Department of Health and Wellness, wrote that Ontario officials were "looking to understand why not all Ontario Grifols facilities have been inspected by HC."
Federal inspectors have found multiple deficiencies at other Grifols centres. A December review of a Winnipeg location found that staff did not always know how to respond to alarms on donation machines. Sites in Calgary and Regina were found non-compliant in December and January. The company's head office in Oakville, Ont., inspected starting Jan. 28, was deemed non-compliant because of concerns about donor screening and staff training.
Licence conditions follow donor deaths
On April 1, Health Canada imposed conditions on Grifols' Canadian licences, citing "recurring, systemic deficiencies." The conditions, effective March 30, include limits on the number of donors processed at one time and additional quality-control measures.
The scrutiny follows the deaths of two plasma donors in Winnipeg in recent months. Health Canada says it could not establish a connection between the deaths and the donation process, a conclusion the family of one donor disputes.
Grifols, headquartered in Barcelona, operates 17 plasma collection centres in Canada and is the country's only major commercial plasma collector. The company entered the Canadian market through a 2022 partnership with Canadian Blood Services, the government-funded charity that spends roughly $1-billion annually on plasma-derived medicines. In an unsigned statement, Grifols said it welcomes any inspections and has submitted detailed action plans to Health Canada.
Manitoba Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara wrote to federal Health Minister Marjorie Michel in early May urging stronger oversight. Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones' office did not respond to The Globe and Mail's questions.
