The Problem With Pork Barrels Is That They Can Roll Over...

...And Squish Things That Actually Matter.

In response to a post on Snooklandian pork-barrelling gone berserk earlier today, reader S.H. left the following comment:

With apologies to sweet piggies everywhere--the oinkers are getting fat at the expense of our highly trained (self-financed) part-time paramedics.

Curious that the CBC posted this on a long weekend, then quickly closed the comments. Who is pulling the strings?

The province enjoys the comfort of pulling on the teat of essential part-time-rural-rescue-cows for the insult of $2.00 an on-call hour.

****

And now this...

From the CP:

Two paramedics in the District of Stewart quit their jobs as of July 30, including unit chief Cindy Ellwood who said she’s fed up with disruptions that mean the nearest ambulance is hours away...

{snip}
...She said the service is asking Stewart paramedics to go further — sometimes a three-hour drive away — to help people

“I didn’t sign up to go out there and sit with somebody in a critical state while I’m waiting for an ambulance to either fly in if I’m lucky, or somebody to come in from either Kitwanga, Hazelton or Terrace which is … three, four hours (away).”

Ellwood said before she and her co-worker quit, they had six people on staff. Now, there is one paramedic and three are ambulance drivers.

For the last year, Ellwood said she’s driven an ambulance out to emergency calls by herself and then relied on a responding fire-rescue operator at the scene to drive her back in the ambulance while she tended to the patient.

She said work is picking up in the area and all those fire-rescue volunteers aren’t available any longer.

{snip}

...“That’s where I’m fed up, because they’ve pushed us aside and said ‘you know what, we just don’t have the budget to send somebody up for you.’”....


Belt tightening and all that, right?

Meanwhile...

Bollywood!

And, of course...

Wheelchairs!


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