CanWest wins ruling over Peace River
The new air ambulance contractor for Peace River was experiencing obstruction by the town in its efforts to obtain facilities at that airport, according to the results of a judicial review.
CanWest Air, which has the contract to provide fixed-wing air ambulance service for most of the province including Medicine Hat, revealed in January it was taking legal action against the town.
CEO Jake Fehr, said Peace River had put up roadblocks in acquiring space at the airport. CanWest had the land but the town was refusing to transfer it from the current owner.
A judge agreed Friday, calling the position “suspicious.”
“It is sufficient for the purposes of this application to simply conclude on the evidence that the Town has acted unreasonably in withholding consent to the assignment,” Justice Robert Graesser, Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta, said in an 18-page document.
The town of Peace River will be reviewing all its options, said CAO Christopher Parker. A report will be provided to council next week. Only after that will the town speak further on the situation.
Fehr was not available for comment on Monday.
Medicine Hat city council on Dec. 18 approved a lease for CanWest of 1.09 acres of land at the airport. CanWest agreed to construct at its own cost the access road and the taxiway from the existing taxiway network.
Alberta Health Services has said it has been assured by CanWest that appropriate hangar space will be ready by April 1 to commence operations out of Medicine Hat.
There are still other legal challenges around the awarding of the air ambulance contract to CanWest.
Integra Air, the current air ambulance provider for Medicine Hat and Calgary, has filed a lawsuit against AHS and CanWest.
Integra Air claims CanWest did not meet the necessary requirements of the Request For Proposals, including appropriate facilities at the bases it was awarded.