Councillors in York Region will decide next week if two decommissioned ambulances will be sent to Nunavut to connect isolated communities to health care.
A staff report that will be considered on April 7 asks to amend donation rules to allow the move to take place.
Ontario regulations require paramedic services to take ambulances off the road after five years, or when they clock 250,000 kilometres. In 2014, York Region agreed to donate decommissioned vehicles to support organizations in Canada and abroad.
Between 2014 and 2021, York Region donated 12 ambulances to organizations, including Friends of Ecuador and the Caribbean North Charities Foundation.
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In 2022, according to regional staff, only one organization has requested help.
A group called Ambulances4NU submitted a request for two ambulances to serve communities in Nunavut. The organization is operated by former Waterloo paramedic chief John Prno.
The territory has just one hospital and patients are airlifted in emergencies, but local communities must get patients from health centres to air transportation themselves, regional staff said.
“Funding is not available to supply ambulances for less populated regions,” the York Region staff report said. It explained that communities use firetrucks, pickup trucks and police vehicles as makeshift ambulances.
“These modes of transportation do not allow patients to be stabilized or protected from extreme weather conditions,” staff wrote.
Four communities in Nunavut have requested ambulances: Pangnirtung, Naujaat, Cambridge Bay and Baker Lake.
“This seems like an excellent use of our decommissioned ambulance(s),” Regional Coun. Jack Heath told Global News. “Good health services are good for the whole country.”
York Region began a trade-in program for its old ambulances in 2017. The average value for ambulances returned to the vendor at the end of their useful lives was $19,000 in 2021.
By donating two ambulances to Nunavut, York Region will forgo around $38,000 in trade-in revenue, staff said.
Municipal staff have recommended councillors approve the necessary changed to donate ambulances to Nunavut.