Manitoba municipalities concerned fees charged by new paramedics college could deter volunteers

Rural municipalities are raising concerns over the fees levied on volunteer first respondersby theCollege of Paramedics of Manitoba,arguing it will deter people from volunteering and further burden taxpayers.

For the last year, 11 rural communities have been scrambling to cover a new $550 fee that's being charged universally to all those who practice paramedicine in Manitoba.

For small municipalities with small budgets, the fees have not been a welcome addition.

"It is quite a jump in costs," said Linda Clark, reeve of Prairie View municipality.

"And it is hard on small rural communities."

The fees came to into existencethis yearafterparamedicine became a self-regulated profession in December of 2020, following years of lobbying from paramedics.

With this came the establishment of the college and new fees in order to cover the administrative costs.

The college is now responsible for the bylaws,governance, registration, complaints and discipline related toparamedicinein the province.

However, this also meant over 100 volunteer paramedics are now required to pay a $550 annual registration fee under the college's regulations.

For Clark, her municipality relies on some 11 volunteer emergency medical respondersto service the over 2,000 people who live in the southwestern Manitoba community. In some areas, people are thirty minutes away from the nearest ambulance.

She said these volunteers are essential to the community and they can't afford to lose them, so the municipality is covering the new costs.

"So this is now borne by the taxpayer," she said.

College also requires new insurance for all paramedics

The college also established that all paramedics must have their own personal liability insurance, another hit for the volunteers who previously were covered by the municipalities' insurance.

Eleven rural municipalities are licensed to operate an emergency response program, staffed by volunteers who typically make just over $1,000 annually.

CBC News spoke with officials at four of the 11 municipalities who said they will cover the cost for the volunteers and the new insurance, but all argued it isan unnecessary burden.

The paramedics typically work alongside the community's fire department to respond to local incidents and can tend to patients ahead of an ambulance arriving.

In a community like the RM of Morris,they have about 10medical responders and have went from paying $5,000 annually to double that at $10,000 with the new fees, explained Ralph Groening, the municipality'sreeve.

"They are essential in rural Manitoba, and some additional consideration should be made to the realities of volunteers," said Groening.

Lobby group argues new fees are risk to public safety

There is also concern that the fees could dissuade people from volunteering, especially if a municipality is unable to cover the extra fees and insurance.

The Association of Manitoba Municipalities (AMM)has been lobbying the college for months to reconsider their fee structure, arguing that it puts public safety at risk.

"Now is not the time to be creating barriers for hundreds of volunteers who do life-saving work, particularly in the midst of a global pandemic when municipalities are focused on delivering essential services," said the lobby group in a prepared statement.

Several municipalities have proposed the college to create a two-tier system, where the volunteer first responders pay less than someone who works full-time.

However, officials with the college said that is not an option.

In a prepared statement, executive director Trish Bergal said they are keeping practice with other health regulatory colleges that do not adjust fees based on number of hours worked.

"We believe that the public would expect any EMS provider in any community is expected to meet the same standard of professional requirement regardless of their number of hours of practice," she said.

Consultant report advised against fees for volunteers: AMM

The AMM pointed to a 2017 consultant report commissioned by the government on paramedic self-regulation that recommended against charging fees to volunteers.

"It would seem only reasonable that a volunteer would pay a nominal fee or no fee at all," wrote the consultant.

"Unless a reasonable solution is found there is a high probability that recruitment/retention of volunteers would be negatively impacted."

The report proposed that the provincial government could subsidize the college, so that the burden for paying for the college's administration doesn't solely fall on full-time paramedics.

Requests by the AMM for the provincial government to step in use their ministerial powers to change the college's mandate have been unsuccessful.

In a prepared statement, acting Health Minister Kelvin Goertzen's spokesperson Brant Batters said these decisions are within the authority of the college.

He also pointed out that several volunteer paramedics also work full-time for aemergency medical service and therefore would already have to pay theregistration fee and have their own insurance. He wasn't able to provide information on how many paramedics this would cover.