‘Two-tier’ ambulance system denounced

Private owners seek health minister’s intervention

QUEBEC Owners of private ambulances are demanding the “vigorous” intervention of Health Minister Gaétan Barrette in the renewal of collective agreements for paramedics.

Caught between their employees, on strike for seven months, and the government, the members of the Corporation des services d’ambulance du Québec said they deplore that bureaucrats at the health ministry offered better working conditions to paramedics in greater Montreal.

In Quebec, the paramedic system has two components: UrgencesSanté, a government organization that serves greater Montreal, and the private network of ambulance companies that serve the rest of Quebec. Since the end of last year, the private network is subject to a decree that establishes the administrative structure these companies operate in and the working conditions of their paramedics.

On Friday, CSAQ spokesperson Richard Thibault pleaded with Barrette to intervene to ensure similar working conditions for all paramedics. “We don’t want to create a two-tier system because that necessarily implies two categories of patients: … those served by happy paramedics in the Montreal region and those served by unhappy paramedics in the regions,” he said.

Already, under current conditions, recruiting paramedics in the regions is difficult, he added.

Paramedics are subject to the essential services law, and even while on strike must provide full service. Their pressure tactics include putting stickers on ambulances and refusing to do some administrative tasks.

Barrette said the CSAQ was “the most rigid” and “least collaborative” of the organizations representing Quebec paramedics. He pointed to the fact that the corporation has “chosen the legal system” to contest the government’s administrative structure. He also noted that a 2014 report clearly showed the system “cost too much” and had problems with quality standards.

“We made offers that allowed everyone to become profitable in a responsible way while offering a level of quality for required services,” Barrette said.