Future of ambulance services is uncertain
By Lethbridge Herald on March 24, 2026.
Photo by Alejandra Pulido-Guzman
The future of ambulance services will be discussed during city council meeting today, after the province gave the city less than a month to decide if they will renew the contract with EHS.By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman
Lethbridge Herald
Lethbridge Firefighters IAFF Local 237 has expressed concern for their contract renewal with Emergency Health Services – Alberta, as the city was given less than a month to make a decision.
President of Lethbridge Fire Fighters AIFF Local 237, Brent Nunweiler told the Herald Monday that the province has told the city to cut costs or they will have the contract go to tender.
“If they go to a bid process that could mean a for-profit company coming in providing lesser level of care. The concern is the municipality has not been told what the cost difference is or what they would need to cover,” said Nunweiler.
He said the financial transparency is lacking and this poses a great risk to public safety should the contract go to another provider.
“Currently during our busiest times, the city of Lethbridge provides 10 ambulances with two advanced care paramedics on them,” said Nunweiler. “Should a for-profit company come in, or another provider, they may not provide 10 ambulances, they might provide less or with members with less training.”
Nunweiler added that if that was to be the case, the citizens of Lethbridge would feel the impact of a lower level of care.
“We have provided high quality advanced care life support in Lethbridge since 1912, 144 years of continuous fire and EMS service. And we couldn’t guarantee the same from a for-profit company, so it’s definitely a risk that patient outcomes,” said Nunweiler.
He explained some of the benefits of having an integrated system, and said they have local knowledge of the city, they can guarantee an advanced care paramedic on every single ambulance, which a different provider may not be able to.
“With the integration of our fire system, we’re getting advanced care paramedics backing up those ambulances,” said Nunweiler. “So, should a gap need to be filled, the fire truck will respond with an enhanced care paramedic, or should those paramedics need assistance you have backup from the advanced care paramedics.”
He added that the integrated system is leading the nation in cardiac survivability, and it is being studied for their resuscitation rates because they are leading the country in that regard.
“When someone’s heart stops, we have the technology, the tools, and the training to get their heart beating again, and get them to the hospital where they can have a chance to recover,” said Nunweiler.
Mayor Blaine Hyggen said in a statement Monday that the integrated fire and emergency services model is valued and appreciated, and the city takes pride in providing Emergency Medical Services (EMS) to the community through their contract with Emergency Health Services.
“As this is an evolving situation, City Council and administration are actively engaged in ongoing discussions and analysis. We are hopeful we can gain a common understanding and together, create a solution that best meets the needs of our community,” said Hyggen.
The issue will be discussed during City Council meeting today. Mayor Hyggen said that as the situation continues to evolve, some of it may be discussed publicly, while some of the information may be reviewed privately.
When talking about the less than a month notice, Nunweiler said typically, when the contract comes up, both parties sit down, and they come to an agreement on a deal.
“This one seems a little bit differently. It’s almost an ultimatum. They are saying to the city that they are too expensive, to meet their costs but were not disclosed,” said Nunweiler.
He said those are essentially the terms they received, which are quite incomplete. He even compared them to the terms of a ransom letter.
“Even when you receive a ransom letter, you’re given at least the amount that they’re asking for,” said Nunweiler.
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With the integration of our fire system, we’re getting advanced care paramedics backing up those ambulances. Clarification???
So a private service won’t have advanced care paramedic requirement on each bus??????