PCC Members,
As Canadian’s face the disruption and uncertainty of our country’s financial stability as a result of the trade war initiated earlier this week, we collectively have concerns impacting our personal situations as well as our professional role as leaders delivering critical health services to Canadians. With the true impact of the current and any future tariffs and counter-tariffs not yet clearly understood, what is certain is that the downstream effect will significantly challenge paramedic service budgets. At a time of severe fragility of the health care system, increased costs for goods and services will further compromise paramedic services’ ability to provide essential quality care to our patients. Put simply, this is a matter of public safety.
On March 3, your PCC Board of Directors held a meeting with our corporate partners to better understand the broader impact of tariffs and counter-tariffs on paramedic services across Canada, and how the PCC can take action to ensure any increased costs, are not passed down to provinces, territories, regions and municipalities. The PCC is committed to ensuring that government policies enable Canadian paramedic services to provide the highest level of care to Canadians, and not compromise this critical service, due to incurred tariffs.
The PCC is issuing a call for action for our legislators to consider exemptions from tariffs and counter-tariffs on all goods and services used in the provision of paramedic services. Actions the PCC will be taking include:
Advocacy – engaging with the federal government for tariff exemption
Public Awareness – ensuring the public is aware of this risk to public safety
Partnership – consistent messaging with and across our corporate partners
Collaboration – connecting with our allies – Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs, others for joint messaging
In addition, the PCC will ensure alignment and support of provincial, territorial, regional and municipal advocacy for the protection of our critical services.
The PCC Board of Directors will be meeting in Toronto March 18-19, and this issue will continue to be a matter of priority. Until that time, we will be putting into action the activities noted above. We will continue to update members on progress and provide resources that you can use for local advocacy and awareness.
Regards,
Kevin Smith
President
Paramedic Chiefs of Canada (PCC)
president@paramedicchiefs.com