Why don’t municipalities receive provincial compensation for responding to medical calls?
Unfair local tax burden to be debated by UBCM
Grumpy Taxpayer$ supports the UBCM resolution calling for the province to compensate municipalities for costs incurred by fire departments responding to medical calls.
A resolution (EB4) by Prince George calling for municipal compensation will be debated this week at the 2023 UBCM Convention in Vancouver, BC. The city argues that health care is clearly a provincial responsibility and providing the added service costs are an overburden on the local taxpayer.
“A large percentage of calls by local fire and rescue workers are for medical services, particularly a very high number of drug overdoses,” says John Treleaven, chair of Grumpy Taxpayer$.
“Why are local taxpayers supporting the provincially funded BC Ambulance Services and fulfilling the responsibility of the provincial government?
“Is this a duplication or a necessary service level which the province is incapable or unwilling to provide?”
Under the Constitution of Canada health care is a federal and provincial responsibility.
In June, the B.C. Coroners Service reported illicit drug toxicity is now the leading cause of death in B.C. for people between the ages of 10 to 59, surpassing homicides, suicides, accidents and natural diseases combined.
The Kamloops Fire Department estimated 63 percent of their calls are medical-related service calls. There is also a very substantial demand on fire and rescue departments on the South Island.
At the very least there should be compensation for first aid and medical supplies, as well as training, Treleaven says.
The issue of compensation to municipalities – particularly in a region with 13 neighbouring jurisdictions – brings up broader issues of proper jurisdiction for services to the local taxpayer.
Last year a 14-page staff study hit council chambers in Vancouver that concluded 15 percent or $219 million of the operating budget in 2021 was spent on provincial and federal responsibilities.
READ MORE
Spare us bills from Senior Government, Grumpy Taxpayer$ commentary, Feb. 26, 2022.
Kamloops council supports push for compensation as fire halls respond to medical calls, Castanet, Sept. 1, 2023
Should B.C. pay when municipal fire departments respond to medical calls?, Castanet, June 23, 2023.
UBCM Resolution Reimbursing Local Governments for Medical Services Provided by Local Government Fire and Rescue Service, 2023.