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FORD GOVERNMENT SURPRISE PLAN WORRIES AMBULANCE CHIEF
GREGG CHAMBERLAIN gregg.chamberlain@eap.on.ca
and the municipal and county governments which operated them. His main concern now is that if the provincial government goes ahead with its amalgamation scheme for ambulance ser- vices, then rural areas of the province, like Prescott-Russell, could receive less priority than larger urban communities like Ottawa. He also questions whether a mega-region ambulance service setup will meet the bilingual needs of Prescott-Russell. Chrétien expressed doubt whether a mega-region setup like the Ford government proposes will result in any savings while maintaining service quality. He noted that staff salaries make up 85 per cent of his own regional ambulance budget with the other 15 per cent covering equipment and other resources. The situation is similar for other regional and municipal ambulance services. “The government hasn’t said anything BCPVUUIBU DPTU u$ISÊUJFOTBJEi8IPT HPJOHUPCFBSUIFCSVOUPGUIBU 8IPTHPJOH to pay for this?” Chrétien noted that there are ways to save on expenses for Ontario’s ambulance services, through bulk equipment purchases when possible and in other areas, but he emphasized that senior government officials need to consult frontline staff for advice and suggestions. He expressed hope that the provincial government will put any further plans for revamping Ontario’s ambulance service on temporary hold now and do a proper consul- tation with municipalities and paramedics on its proposal. «They need to listen to us,» he said. “They need to understand.”
A surprise announcement by Premier Doug Ford about plans to revamp Ontario’s paramedic services has Prescott-Russell’s ambulance chief and his staff worried. “They (staff) have a whole bunch of ques- tions,” said Michel Chrétien, Prescott-Russell emergency services director on April 18, “and I can’t answer them.” On April 15, the premier revealed the Progressive Conservative government’s intention to reduce Ontario’s land ambulance service from 52 regional outfits to 10 mega- region operations. The premier did not say how the massive revamping of the province’s ambulance service would be done and that is what worries Chrétien. “How are we going to maintain speed and quality of care?” he said, adding that he and other regional ambulance chiefs were “completely blindsided” by the premier’s announcement. Follow-up comments by the premier and other senior government officials stated that the provincial government will “work closely with its paramedic and municipal partners” on the new ambulance service plan. But both the Association of Municipalities of Ontario and the Ontario Association of Paramedic Chiefs stated that they were never consulted by the government about the proposal before Monday’s announcement. Chrétien noted that when the previous Liberal government looked into revamping the ambulance dispatch setup for the pro- vince, there was a consultation process that involved all the regional ambulance services
Michel Chrétien, directeur des services ambulanciers de Prescott-Russell, s’inquiète de l’impact que le plan du gouvernement Ford, visant à réorganiser le système ambulancier de l’Ontario, aura sur le service dans les régions rurales comme Prescott- Russell. — photo Gregg Chamberlain
SLEW OF DOMESTIC ABUSE CHARGES LAID
Officers of the Russell County Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) responded to a total of 492 calls, from April 1 st to April 7. Officers of the Highway Safety Division of the OPP were called to a single vehicle collision on Ste-Catherine Road in Russell Township, on April 5, at about 5:15 pm. They arrested a 17-year-old man from &NCSVOBOEDIBSHFEIJNXJUIPQFSBUJPO of a vehicle while impaired, all the while detaining a youth Ontario driving license. He received a 90-day driver›s license suspension and the vehicle was also impounded for seven days. About an hour later, officers responded to a traffic complaint on Richelieu Street in Rockland. Mark Tanner, a 55-year-old man
of Ottawa, was charged with operation of a vehicle while impaired, operation while impaired with a blood alcohol concentra- tion of over 80 and driving while under suspension. He received a 90-day driver›s license suspension and the vehicle was also impounded for seven days. On April 7, at about 3:30 pm, officers responded to a domestic dispute on Principale Street in Casselman. As a result, a 25-year-old woman from Ottawa was charged with domestic assault. On April 7, 2019, at approximately 11 pm, officers responded to a domestic dispute on Champlain Street in Bourget. A 30-year-old man from Bourget was charged with domestic assault.
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