Minister LaGrange unveils new details re: ambulance service changes

SPRUCE GROVE -- The province has confirmed that it will not be negotiating a different funding model for integrated Fire-EMS services in Alberta.

The latest developments come following months of uncertainty surrounding the future of the integrated model, which is currently utilized by seven Alberta municipalities, including Spruce Grove. Following a decision in late June, the province announced that it would be halting its procurement approach for local ambulance services pending further discussion with affected municipalities. This decision came after several communities had pushed back at the province's decision to raise the cost for municipalities to operate integrated Fire-EMS.

In a statement issued at the time by Adriana LaGrange, Minister of Hospital and Surgical Health Services, the planned discussions with municipal leaders aimed to assist these communities in designing a strategy that brings costs in line with provincially delivered service by 2028-2029. However, as revealed this week by Spruce Grove Mayor Jeff Acker -- Minister LaGrange made it clear that the province will not be negotiating a new funding model for integrated Fire-EMS. This means that municipalities will still need to pay more if they wish to continue the service -- which the City of Spruce Grove has elected not to.

"While municipalities have been given more time to meet the province's funding benchmarks, accepting the province's proposal would mean an ongoing municipal subsidy starting at approximately $1 million in the first year, growing to roughly $1.5 million within five years and exceeding $2 million annually within a decade, with no certainty about future provincial funding," reads a statement from Mayor Jeff Acker. 

Acker also revealed that in his discussions with the Minister, confirmation was made that the province has committed to providing a pathway for municipal employees who wish to transition to EHS-Alberta. In Leduc, the local firefighters' union had confirmed that layoffs would be an inevitability once the city fully transitions to the new provincial service following the conclusion of the current contract this fall. 

Strathcona County and Red Deer voted to take the financial hit associated with the more expensive contract, while Spruce Grove voted to transition away from the current model. EHS-AB Managing Director Les Fischer has said that the change in costs is related to the need to "standardize funding", so that provincial taxpayers aren't on the hook for subsidizing local municipal choices in terms of their delivery model.