Whereas communities across BC are facing significant increase in calls to respond to emergency medical incidents; And whereas this increase in calls can be directly attributed to the prehospital patient care provided by fire departments in response to the opioid crisis and limited resources of the Provincial BC Ambulance Service; And whereas many first responder agencies have signed agreements to provide this service without any financial funding to support the increased service requests required in their communities: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM ask the provincial government to develop a funding model to compensate local governments who provide emergency medical services through their fire and rescue services fulfilling the responsibility of the provincial government with consideration given to community population and the fire departments authorized level of emergency medical response.
Ministry of Health The support provided by First Responders during medical emergencies is an essential part of the delivery of emergency health services to the people of British Columbia. BC Emergency Health Services BCEHS and the Province value the role that First Responders play in out-of-hospital emergency care. The Ministry of Health appreciates all fire first responders across British Columbia. BCEHS and local governments have agreements that define the health emergency events to which community First Responder agencies will respond. The agreements are completely voluntary, allowing each municipality to decide the extent of their participation and the types of calls they will respond to. This approach enables municipalities to directly manage all costs associated with their participation in out-of-hospital care. The Province appreciates local governments ongoing concern for fiscal accountability. Under these agreements, BCEHS notifies the first responder agency of an emergency event, and the agency can decide whether to respond. Should a first responder agency find that the agreement is no longer a good fit, BCEHS will work collaboratively with them to update their agreement. BCEHS is not funded to provide financial support to First Responder programs. The Ministry of Health has worked closely with BCEHS, fire departments and municipalities, on improving out-of-hospital care by way of a renewed First Responder Service Agreement. The First Responder Service Agreement will ultimately be at the discretion of each community and is intended to provide an opportunity for BCEHS and First Responder agencies to work together, offering flexibility for local governments to determine a level of response by community interest, available resources and standard of care. Through continued and increased investment, the British Columbia government is supporting BCEHS to take targeted action to improve emergency health services throughout the province. From 2017 to mid-2025, BCEHS added approximately 2,000 paramedic, dispatch, and emergency medical responder positions. BCEHS continues to focus on building paramedic capacity throughout British Columbia to help further stabilize and strengthen ambulance services in communities throughout the province. Increasing paramedic care in rural and remote communities is a necessary step to enhancing equitable access to ambulance services across the province.