From: plaws@uafhp.uark.edu (Peter Laws)
Newsgroups: misc.emerg-services,soc.culture.canada
Subject: Urgences Sante (Ambulances in Montreal)
Date: 26 Jan 1993 21:11:34 -0600
Organization: UTexas Mail-to-News Gateway
NNTP-Posting-Host: cs.utexas.edu


  Someone on soc.canada.culture.eh? asked about the ambulances in
Montreal... (cross posted to misc.emerg-services)

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They're at it again, eh?  

  The union there is *very* powerful.  They even went so far as striking
in '85 or so. 

  The Union only got powerful after 1983.  Prior to that, the MUC PD
provided emergency "ambulance" service to the Montreal Urban Community.  I
put ambulance in quotes because the service was little more than a
horizontal ride to the hospital.  No pre-hospital care what so ever (Ok,
if the wound was *really* gruesome, they'd put a dressing on it).  The
service did not even meet the province's minimal ambulance standards. 
Some units *did* have Oxygen, though. 8-( Inter-hospital, and some
emergency runs, were handled by no less than 25 private ambulance
companies. 

  Some of these private services operated at a de-facto Paramedic level,
though at the time EMTs were unable to "legally" do more than basic
emergency care (bandaging, splinting, airway care/O2, CPR) due to pressure
from two other Unions: those of the Physicians and of the Nurses.  There
was a "renegade" Paramedic training program, but that's another story. 

  In December 1981, the provincial government stepped in and created "La
Centre de Coordination des Urgences Sante", a regional body intended to
oversee Emergency Medical Services in the Montreal/Laval region.  The
aforementioned companies were then "hired" by the government to provide
emergency and inter-hospital services.  By 1983 the Police Ambulances were
gone.  This opened the doors to unionization. 

  While some companies were already union (I was a Teamster for Newman
Ambulance 8-)), most were not.  The average wage was C$6-7/hr.  By 1983, a
group called RETAQ (a french acronym loosely meaning Quebec Ambulance
Workers Association) started soliciting members.  This was really a front
for (OK, OK, "a group affiliated with...") the CSN (Conseil des Syndicats
Nationale, I think), Quebec's (Canada's?) most powerful labor union. 
That's when things started to get bad. 

  Among the Union's demands were a salary of C$14/hr (yes, double), paid
uniforms, a shift bid (seniority) system, more holidays, etc.  Oh yeah,
and passing mention of increased training (EMTs in Quebec were barely able
to call themselves that at the time). 

  Needless to say, the Government was not about to give in to the demands,
the Province's fiscal trouble notwithstanding.  At first they said it
wasn't *their* problem, since the "ambulanciers" were not employees of the
government, but of the sub-contractors. 

  This went around and around for a few months, during which time the
Union increased their "pressure tactics".  Black ribbons on the antennas,
then 3" round buttons, then jeans instead of uniform pants, then no
uniforms, etc, etc.  Think of all the things you would do if you were 5
years old and couldn't get your way...up to and including assaulting
people who disagreed with you and vandalizing equipment. 

  The Government finally "decreed" a new contract, with some of the
demands fulfilled.  A salary increase to ~C$10/hr, a seniority system,
etc.  Not good enough for the CSN though.  More pressure tactics. 

  Eventually they struck.  Fortunately, I had moved to Boston by this time
to take the (over-priced) Paramedic Program at Northeastern Univ., so I
don't have a lot of first hand details of this period.  As I recall, the
Military and volunteers were used to handle emergency runs.  All the
inter-hospital stuff was "10-03".  

  It gets complicated after 1985 (when I left) and I really don't know (or
understand!) what happened then, so maybe someone else can do the part 2. 
There was some kind of co-op set up which allowed the union to become the
contractor or some such, but like I said, I was OUTTA THERE.

  The system did get modern ambulances, new equipment, and more training,
but surely it could have been done without putting innocent people's lives
in danger.  

  The Union did *nothing* to promote the image of the EMTs and of
Emergency Medical Service in Quebec, and IMHO, undid years of hard work by
people like Lt. Barry Tottle of the Pointe Claire FD, Dr. Helene
LaMontagne, even "insiders" like Paramedics Gary McHugh and Marco
Colatriano et al. 

  Hopefully the small minds that control the CSN and RETAQ have matured
and they won't go to the same criminal extremes that they went to in the
'80s.  
  
  But I doubt it.

Peter Laws
ex-NREMT/P

Peter Laws|GEnie:P.LAWS1|"Finally: one of our guys is    |plaws@uafhp.uark.edu 
n5uwy@ka5bml.ar.usa.noam| driving the car"--Dennis Miller|plaws@uafsysb.bitnet