THUNDER BAY — The province should create an all-party task force to try and solve a chronic paramedic shortage that has hit remote Northern communities particularly hard, union and NDP officials say.
NDP health critic and Sudbury-area MPP France Gelinas said on Wednesday the task force would be directed to come up with advice in a year's time to find ways to boost service funding, training, recruitment and retention.
"We need to act now," said Gelinas, noting many Ontarians have been waiting too long for ambulances to arrive due to the paramedic shortage.
The call for a task force follows a request earlier this fall by Northwestern Ontario municipal leaders for strapped Northern land-ambulance services to be fully funded by the province.
Full funding "will allow (Northern) regions to offer competitive salaries and benefits, upgrade outdated equipment and (ambulance) bases, and invest in workplace health and safety programs," Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association president Wendy Landry said in a letter to the Ministry of Health. Landry is also Shuniah's mayor.
In an NDP news release, London, Ont.-area paramedic Stephen Adlington said the staffing shortage "has been considered OK for too long."
"Stress, burnout, addiction and suicide are just seen as occupational hazards," Adlington said. "This ugly reality means fewer paramedics to respond to public emergencies."
Northern ambulance departments like Superior North Emergency Medical Services (EMS) are currently funded by a combination of provincial and municipal money, with the latter component proportionally based on population.
In an earlier response to concerns about the paramedic shortage, a Ministry of Health spokeswoman referenced $910 million the province earmarked this year "to support ... critical operation(s) and to increase the availability of ambulances across the province."
She noted that in 2023, the province increased the number of spaces in Ontario colleges for students wanting to train as paramedics to 300.
Still, many land-ambulance services continue to struggle to fill significant vacancies.
Superior North EMS Chief Shane Muir last month said he could use at least 30 paramedics sooner than later. Part-time positions are the hardest to fill at the moment, Muir said.
Muir said his service, which responds to emergencies in Thunder Bay and surrounding municipalities and First Nations, has about 230 paramedics "on paper."
But Muir said the number actually available to work is less than that due to factors like illness and stress-related leaves.
The Chronicle-Journal / Local Journalism Initiative