With the approach of spring, there appears to be the possibility of a thaw in the recently icy relations between Guelph and Wellington County councils.
Warden Chris White said in an interview last week he met with Guelph Mayor Karen Farbridge at the recent Rural Ontario Municipal Association and Good Roads conference in Toronto, just days after county council held its February meeting.
He said the objective is to have the county get back representation on a land ambulance committee.
“We’re looking at potential models to restart,” White said, adding the Ministry of Health wants the municipalities to “work it out. I’ve met with several ministers.”
White also hinted at reaching other accommodations with the city. “We’ve got several irons in the fire but we don’t necessarily need to tie them together,” he said.
The city and the county have been at odds for several years. One bone of contention for the city was the county’s control over social services, which has forced Guelph to pay costs while feeling they had no control over expenditures.
Then Guelph took the county to arbitration, hoping for a better percentage split of those costs. It lost. Last year, Guelph dropped off the joint social services committee and started its own committee, albeit with very little power or even information available because social services staff are employed by the county and do not attend city meetings.
Meanwhile, Erin residents have been up in arms for several years over long waits for ambulance service, which is provided by Guelph. The county several years ago attempted to regain control over land ambulance, but the province rejected its bid.
At county council on Feb. 24, councillor Lou Maieron said he was looking for some information on land ambulance service on his laptop and was surprised to find a Newspaper report that Dufferin County was being paid $146,000 by Guelph for ambulance service provided into Erin from Orangeville. Between 2001 and 2009, Dufferin County ambulances made 891 more calls to Wellington County than Wellington ambulances made to Dufferin.
They counties have a mutual aid agreement, but Dufferin officials felt it was getting one sided since 2001.
Maieron was upset he had to learn about that deal from a Newspaper, and presented a notice of motion to be considered at the March council meeting.
It states, “In the interest of Wellington County taxpayers that a method be developed by staff to receive regular information reports and updates for our ambulance service from our provincially appointed ambulance service provider, the City of Guelph.”
Councillors after the meeting were surprised about the report in the Orangeville Banner.
Social services committee chairman Gord Tosh said he had not heard anything about that payment. In the past, land ambulance was a part of the social services committee.
County councillor Ken Chapman was concerned the agreement for payment between Guelph and Dufferin means the Regions of Halton and Peel might also be wanting payments. They, too, provide ambulance service in Erin.
But Guelph Emergency Services Director Shawn Armstrong said in an interview the agreement is perfectly natural, and added the city also provides ambulance service into Perth County, and between the two payments, it received a net benefit.
Armstrong said payment to the city was $240,000. He added the extra money would be divided proportionately with the county.
Armstrong called the Advertiser after a message was left at Farbridge’s office.
“We’re going to attempt to develop a governance and transparency model,” he said of a land ambulance committee. He added Guelph would “seek consensus with the county.”
He said, “It’s a way to communicate effectively with our partner.”
Armstrong said Dufferin had approached the city about the payment issue, and Guelph and Dufferin officials will meet from time to time to assess how the agreement is working.
Special ambulance rules
Armstrong said Guelph council has approved his budget for an extra ambulance this year.
That will bring to eight the number of full-time, 24 hours a day, seven days a week ambulances. There are four other ambulances stationed at various places across the county that work on various shifts.
But, Armstrong explained, having ambulances in Guelph and Wellington, or even in a specific community, does not mean they will spend much, if any time there.
The province insists on seamless services, which means the closest ambulance is directed to a call, regardless of municipal boundaries.
Since ambulances are often used to transport patients from say, Fergus to Toronto, that ambulance, during its trip home, could easily by law be diverted to Hamilton, Burlington or other communities.
“Our ambulances aren’t static,” he said. “Ambulances move around.”
Armstrong also noted the service provided by Guelph receives 12,000 Code 4 calls per year, which are the most serious calls – for such things as heart attacks and car accidents. He said even if there were to be an ambulance stationed in the new bay at the new Erin medical centre, “There is no guarantee it would stay there.”
He added that Erin receives, on average, 1.5 Code 4 emergency calls per day.
“They’re a busy service,” he said of the ambulance crews. “They’re constantly moving around. It’s not unusual for a Wellington ambulance to move around the province.”
Further thaws?
White was asked if readjustment of the ambulance service committee could lead to a thaw in other relationships with Guelph council.
He said learning about the Dufferin deal is “one of the reasons we need to be at the table.”
But, he added, the county recognizes Guelph is the service provider for ambulance, and does not expect to hold a majority of the committee.
“As an absolute minimum, we need a way to get information,” he said. “When an issue like this comes up, we have an opportunity to see what it means to us. In no way are we trying to usurp their role.”
When asked if an ambulance committee resolution could be the start of a new joint social services committee, White was cautious.
He said, “We’d still have discretion,” but he also noted that currently, “We don’t have a process.”
He said it is tough for county officials when a city group comes to social services to ask for something.
“I don’t want to be put in the position of spending money for Guelph,” White said.
He concluded that first he would like to get the ambulance governance sorted out. Then, he added, “I’m a believer in building on success.”
