Province hiring more pilots for air ambulance service on verge of privatization

The Manitoba government is promising to hire two new pilots for anair ambulance service that may have to ground its private planesif doctors refuse to work on them.

The movewill bolster the number of pilots in Manitoba's Lifeflight program from six to eight, the government said in a news release Thursday.It also promised$750,000 to maintainthe province's two Citation jets.

The announcement comes just days after it became public thatLifeflight doctors threatened to stop working on private medevac planes as of Jan. 1, 2019, if the province doesn't hire more pilots and pay for the training they require annually.

A request for comment from the service's director on Thursday was not returned.

The province issued a request for proposalsin July to privatize the entirety of Manitoba Air Service'sLifeflightair ambulance and general transport services.

The province is still seeking a private contractor for theservice, but Health Minister Cameron Friesenhas insisted the provincewill notgo forward if the new firmis not cost-effective and doesn't maintain existing safety standards.

"Our government's top priority is ensuring that safety and service standards remain high, and these steps will assure Manitobans that those standards will remain in place while the request for proposals processproceeds," Infrastructure Minister Ron Schuler said in a statement.

The Manitoba Government and General Employees' Union, which representsnurses, clerical staff,pilots and maintenance crew with the air ambulance, hopes this investment marks the first of many. Lifeflight needs 12 pilots to be properly staffed, said president Michelle Gawronsky.

"It's encouraging that the government is focusing their time and energy on investing in this service, instead of privatizing it," she said in an email.

Resistance to privatization

The group of Lifeflight physicians havepubliclyexpressed opposition to the privatization of air ambulance services, citing the "incident-free" record of Manitoba Government Air Services for more than 30 years, and concern for the safety of patients and care providers.

The physicianssay the decision to privatize the entire service would harm northern communities whose runways don'tmeet national standards for private carriers.

NDP Leader WabKinewsaid the province's latest announcement doesn't alleviate the concerns of patients and doctors.

"The premier ignored their warnings for months and only after they were forced to publicly threaten to resign did he approve funding to keep the planes in service," he said in a statement.

"Instead of these superficial solutions, the premier must do the right thing and reverse his plan to privatize Lifeflight."

According to the province, the Lifeflight jets were not available for 51 per cent of all flightsin 2017-18, resulting in the increasing use of private carriers. The province now has five companies licensed to provide air ambulance care.

A final decision on the request for proposals is not expected for some time, the government said Thursday.