Date:               May 8, 2014

To:                  All Members of Local 867

From:              Alex Forrest, President

RE:                  Paramedic Self-Regulation

A lot of information is being passed around within the paramedic community of Manitoba concerning why the I.A.F.F., UFFW, and the Locals in Brandon and Thompson are opposed to Paramedic self-regulation.

As we have said in the past, we are opposed to this.  We were not part of the PAM presentation to the government of Manitoba and we do not believe that it is in the best interest of the citizens of Manitoba to increase the bureaucracy and the costs within the profession.

We do not believe that it is in our members’ best interest to have paramedic self-regulation at this time.

One of the missed perceptions being stated is that this is an anti-paramedic stance by the fire fighters of Manitoba.  This could not be further from the truth, as we have tremendous respect for paramedics, including urban paramedics, fire fighter paramedics, PAM and MGEU.

Also, paramedic self-regulation has just been dealt with in Ontario.  An advisory committee to the government of Ontario has conclusively stated that paramedic self-regulation is not in the best interest of the citizens of that province.  The reasons for this given by the advisory committee in Ontario mirror the issues that we have outlined to the government of Manitoba.

To show that this is not merely an I.A.F.F. position we have included a position paper from CUPE Ontario, which represents paramedics. In this position paper you will see that CUPE Ontario also opposes paramedic self-regulation, as it is not in the best interest of their members or the citizens of Ontario

Please feel free to share this in the halls with our paramedic Brothers and Sisters, as this is in no way an attack on the paramedic profession but simply a disagreement regarding the value of paramedic self-regulation at this time.

 

Urgent Message for: CUPE paramedic members From CUPE Ontario and CACO