Vegreville Divests Local EMS Services

Vegreville Divests Local EMS Services

Vegreville Town Council Votes to Divest Local EMS Services

Emily Mailhot Reporter – Vegreville News Advertiser

Following Facebook posts and posters widespread throughout the town by union CUPE and titled “Save your Local EMS,” Monday night’s Town Council meeting in Vegreville was packed with a crowd eager to protest on behalf of their local EMS, and hear Council’s decision.

At the Council Chambers, it was made promptly clear that the actual existence of EMS in Vegreville was not a question, rather, the Town Council would be deciding whether to divest to a third-party management contractor as per the pattern for most municipalities in Alberta.

In the foyer, CUPE’s Vegreville leadership Michael Taylor and the national rep had gathered with EMS employees to discuss the importance of keeping the contracts local. Some of the factors they talked about included employment security for the paramedics, and the quality of care that would be provided by more distant management.

Council chambers were full to overflowing, with an excess of guests standing along the wall and seated on the floor.

Just minutes before the meeting began, people expressed their concern at having not been notified by Town Council about the topic of the meeting until a radio invitation just days prior, or consulted in the process. Mayor MacPhee confirmed that as the Municipal Act restricts Council from discussing matters of labour with the public, and as the EMS service falls under a category of town employees, they couldn’t discuss it until the topic became public at Monday’s meeting.

Amidst many interruptions from Michael Taylor, who was not on the agenda as a speaker and was quickly rebuffed each time, council discussed the history of the subject, starting with a 3-year contract between Alberta Health Services and the Town of Vegreville in 2014, that has been extended for the past couple of years.

Mayor MacPhee said that as the topic had been discussed and researched by this council since they began working together after the 2017 elections, the decision was not taken lightly, but it was time to take action. “Having talked with other municipalities who chose to divest, we found that almost all of the same paramedics were re-hired by the thirdparty company, every time. The only thing that will change is the name on the side of the vehicle.”

“For the past years, we have run the EMS service off of a surplus of funds, which have been depleting since the start.” Said MacPhee, “As we will run out of these funds after the end of the year if they do not give up managing control of the EMS services in Vegreville, it became a matter of whether we would be taxing residents for a service that they’re already being taxed for provincially.”

Since the contract was first signed, AHS has changed the system for EMS ambulances responding to calls, so that the nearest ambulance will always go out on the call. This, Mayor MacPhee explained, would mean that often a Vegreville ambulance could wind up in Mundare, Tofield, or even Edmonton, depending on the day, which would not be an issue if the ambulance costs were not covered by property taxes in Vegreville.

After Michael Taylor continued interrupting during council’s, he was asked to leave the meeting. Taylor said that though he has spoken during many council meetings before, this was a first for him.

There was also some discussion in Council to address “fear-mongering” the union had taken part in. Councillor Brodziak shared her experience cleaning several fliers out of one of the seniors’ lodges, where many were concerned that there would be no ambulance in Vegreville. “It’s inexcusable, to imply to a senior that if they fall and call an ambulance, no help will come for them,” she said. “There has been and always will be an ambulance in Vegreville.”

After more discussion, Councillor Rudyk moved to table the decision to divest in order to better educate the public first, but the motion was not passed. Council unanimously voted to divest the management of EMS services to AHS and thirdparty provider Prairie EMS, which services Fort Saskatchewan, among others.