Saskatoon paramedics take job action after two years without a contract 

Members of the Saskatoon Paramedic Association Local 3270 have unanimously voted to initiate strike actions after exhausting all available options with their employer. 

For two years, Local 3270 members have been working without a contract. While they’ve negotiated in good faith with their employer, Medavie Health Services West, paramedics and emergency medical dispatchers say they’ve refused to meaningfully address the issues driving a growing staffing and retention crisis. 

“We’re dealing with a serious staffing crisis in our community,” said Local 3270 President Russell Grant. “When we start shifts, there are almost always calls in the queue. Residents are having to wait to get the emergency care they need – sometimes for hours – and it’s becoming seriously dangerous, both to the community and to our members.” 

The strike actions are aimed at forcing movement on staffing and retention issues that members say have gone unresolved for years. Paramedics and dispatchers will remain on the job and continue providing lifesaving care – but members say the action is necessary to be heard. 

“Our members are standing up for public safety and ensuring they have the support they need to have long and fulfilling careers,” said 6th District Vice President Mike Carter. “I’m extremely proud of the Local 3270 executive team and membership for their solidarity, as well as our IAFF team – who are doing an unbelievable job supporting our brothers and sisters.”

“This action is about one thing: delivering a real contract that fixes real issues,” said Grant.

“Retention, mental health support, adequate benefits and fair compensation are not extra perks – they’re essential to stabilizing emergency care in Saskatoon. We have to fix this broken system.”

Local 3270 has raised these issues throughout contract negotiations with Medavie and agreed to enter mediation to reach a resolution. But Medavie has refused to engage on any benefit or wage issues – despite being the root cause of the staffing crisis. 

“Because of Medavie’s refusal to negotiate on the key issues driving this crisis, people are waiting hours for emergency care, and paramedics are struggling to keep up with the demand – both physically and mentally. This situation is totally unsustainable,” said General President Edward Kelly. 

“The IAFF is proud to stand with our brothers and sisters in Local 3270 and calls on Medavie to get serious about negotiating a contract that keeps paramedics and the community safe.” 

In an open letter posted on the Local’s social media page, Grant laid out the stakes for the community if a contract can’t be reached. 

“If nothing changes, this strain will worsen, bringing us closer to a reality where there may not be a dispatcher to answer your call, an ambulance available to respond, or a paramedic team ready to provide care when every second counts,” wrote Grant. “This is not hypothetical; it is a very real trajectory that threatens the safety of our community.”

Local 3270 is calling on Medavie and the Saskatchewan government to engage seriously on key issues and reach an agreement that stabilizes emergency medical care in Saskatoon while fairly compensating the paramedics and dispatchers who provide that care.