Every ambulance must provide service in both official languages, says health minister

New Brunswick's health minister has given new directives to Ambulance New Brunswick that include a requirement that every emergency ambulance in the province can provide service in both English and French.

Ted Flemming says in a new letter to ANB officials that the organization should continue to recruit paramedics with a goal "of having all bilingual-designated positions filled with bilingual paramedics."

That effectively abandons a regional-based hiring system that Flemming announced one month ago.

Bernard Lord, CEO of Medavie, which operates ANB, said the new letter "supersedes" the directives Flemming announced in December.

At the time, Flemming directed Ambulance New Brunswick to weaken bilingualism requirements in areas where anglophones or francophones are fewerthan five per cent of the population or number fewer than 500 people.

At the Dec. 18 news conference, Flemming brushed off questions about whether that violated the provincial Official Languages Act, which requires equal service in both languages everywhere.

He said it was more important to fill vacancies, which he claimed were keeping ambulances out of service and off the road.

"I'm more interested in filling that gap than I am in having some academic discussion of the legal nuances," he said at the time.

But in his new letter, dated Jan. 18 and obtained by CBC News, Flemming says the Progressive Conservative government will ensure the ambulance service respects legal obligations under the act.

He says filling all bilingual-designate positions with bilingual paramedics "will ensure every emergency 911 ambulance unit be a bilingual unit."

It also directs the organization to "continue to ensure that under no circumstances an ambulance is taken out of service for reason of language alone" in effect accepting ANB's assertions that bilingualism requirements are not to blame for idle ambulances.

New 'float team positions'

The letter was sent to Richard Losier, CEO of Ambulance New Brunswick, and Rene Boudreau, the chair of its board.

The letter directs ANB to create "new float team positions" that will be offered to all the unilingual paramedics who do not have permanent full-time positions.

The float team paramedics would be deployed to fill vacant bilingual positions where no bilingual applicant has been found, the letter says.

The unilingual "float team" paramedic would be moved elsewhere, and would keep their job, once a bilingual candidate was hired for a given position.

In the weeks since Flemming's Dec. 18 directive, Medavie has avoided saying explicitly when it would implement the weaker, region-based hiring standards.

In a conference call with reporters, Lord said his organization is "happy with the directives that we have today and we're happy to fully implement the measures that are here."

He said Flemming's new directive was the result of "conversations and consultations we had with the department and the minister."

He wouldn't say if Medavie took the position in those discussions that the regional system was unconstitutional, but Lord did add that "the government's commitment with regards to official languages has been clear. I think it's clearer today."

People's Alliance Leader Kris Austin welcomed Flemming's letter. In a press release, he said the creation of the float teams would guarantee jobs to unilingual paramedics "and ensure no ambulance is out of service due to language."

He said a "common-sense approach" has finally been achieved.

Flemming could not be reached for comment on Monday, but in the letter, he predicts the system, along with a new dedicated service for hospital transfers, will reduce the number of vacant bilingual positions from 60 to20 by March and eventually eliminate them.

He also says it will provide permanent full-time positions to existing temporary paramedics, improving their morale and quality of life.

The new transfer system, announced in November, won't require bilingual paramedics because the patient's choice of English or French will be known in advance, when the transfer is booked.

Language testing discussions

Flemming's letter also promises discussions with Ambulance New Brunswick and the union representing paramedics about a new language testing procedure.

The ParamedicAssociation of New Brunswick has argued the current test requires a higher level of French than what's necessary to treat a patient.

Flemming says in the letter that "in the rare instance" where a two-person ambulance team won't be able to provide bilingual services, paramedics and the patient will initially talk to bilingual dispatch staff.

In some cases, a second ambulance with bilingual paramedics may meet the first one en route to hospital to take over the transfer.

Last week, Ambulance New Brunswick said it was implementing a freeze on the re-posting of vacancies every eight weeks, something Flemming asked for in December.

The frequent repostings were unfair to temporary paramedics and didn't respect the seniority rights in their union contract, labour arbitrator John McEvoy ruled in a decision last year.

McEvoy's ruling also recommended the region-based hiring standards that Flemming embraced in December.

New Brunswick's official languages commissioner saidthat provision violates the Official Languages Act and will argue that in court on Thursday, when the McEvoy ruling is subject to a judicial review.

Lord said Monday the hearing would "take its own course, but "frankly, [Flemming's new directive] renders most of the elements in the McEvoy decision irrelevant" because unilingual paramedics in temporary positions will get permanent jobs.