Province halts procurement process for local ambulance services

LEDUC -- Leduc Mayor Lars Hansen has issued a statement on the province's recent decision to halt its procurement strategy for integrated Fire-EMS operators pending further municipal consultation.

This comes after the province originally indicated to affected municipalities earlier this year that they would be cutting funding for the integrated service once their current contract expires on Sept. 30. This resulted in the City of Leduc deciding to transition away from this model due to greater costs set to be shifted to the municipality in the fall. 

"I've written the seven community leaders so that we can pursue a more deliberate and effective path forward together," read a statement from Minister Adriana LaGrange. "EHS Alberta will work with these communities to design a strategy that supports them and brings costs in line with provincially delivered EHS services by 2028-29."

In response to these developments, Leduc Mayor Lars Hansen responded by saying that Leduc is actively engaging with the province and EHS Alberta leadership to better understand what this means for the city, residents, and the future of ambulance service delivery in the community, including the long-term sustainability of the integrated service model.

"We're reviewing the information from the Minister and connecting with EHS to try to receive more details on that decision from the province," said Hansen in conversation with 93.1 The One. "We're still trying to get some information from the province. They did indicate in their statement that their expectation is still to get down to that benchmark costing by 2028-2029."

In previous correspondence with 93.1 The One, Alberta E-H-S Managing Director Les Fischer had stated that continuing the current integrated model at the same price would force taxpayers across the province to pay more for a service that's only offered in seven communities, including the City of Leduc.

This is a developing story, and we'll have more information on this story as it becomes available.