After months of council debate across multiple Alberta municipalities, one has now signed a ground ambulance contract extension with the provincial government’s emergency health agency. St. Albert says its new 2.5 year contract extension through Alberta’s Emergency Health Services (EHS) will maintain its previous funding levels until 2029 and will not spell out a municipal property tax increase in 2027 as previously thought. Residents were previously told they would see a 1.2-per-cent increase after the Alberta government announced changes to its municipal ground ambulance funding. At the time, that meant accepting less money from the Alberta government to fund its local contracted ambulance and fire services. It also had the option to find a new provider or accept provincially delivered ambulances. St. Albert city councillors voted unanimously to re-negotiate a ground ambulance contract with EHS in May. The contract extension replaces a Sept. 30 expiration date and maintains the ambulances provided by St. Albert Fire Services and other original ambulance providers. The city is also waiting on the results of a third-party review sought by the province that would determine the financial viability of emergency medical services beyond 2029. Hospitals and surgical health services Minister Adriana LaGrange said the review was meant to ensure the pricing of municipal fire-ambulance services was “an accurate reflection of what the benchmark should be.” Other municipalities, like Spruce Grove, await the review before making a concrete decision on whether to switch to provincially delivered ambulance services. Ernst and Young is the company conducting the review on behalf of EHS. With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Angela Amato
