Wow, what a year. We’re closing 2024 with a bang, a few cease-and-desist letters, and a lot of FOIP requests. Thanks to your generosity, we raised $1,275—which, in paramedic terms, is roughly the cost of three good coffees and 3 maybe 4 tanks of gas for rural ambulances to do non-clinical transfers. But seriously, your donations powered some major wins this year, and we’re here to spill all the tea (and receipts—literally). If you think you can spare a few bucks to keep us going consider heading over to our give send go https://www.givesendgo.com/GC4M8.
Let’s start with the obvious: we filed over 20 Freedom of Information requests. So many, in fact, that one of our FOIP champions got told they were going to be blocked from filing more. AHS clearly didn’t expect us to multiply like gremlins, and now we have a whole team submitting requests. The logistical nightmare of collecting receipts is ongoing, but this post will have updates as we add them. Accountability, folks—we demand it, so we’ll model it too.
What Did $1,275 Do? A Lot More Than You’d Think!
Meetings with Big Shots
Assistant Deputy Minister of Health? Check.
Danielle Smith? Yep, her too.
Mayors, councils, and action groups in Okotoks and Cochrane? Absolutely. Reports delivered, hands shaken, eyebrows raised.
Media Mayhem
Holiday staffing nightmares 2023? CTV covered it.
Rural ambulance misuse? Global News had our back.
Holiday staffing crisis, the sequel? Global News again!.
Sticker Campaigns and Legal DramaWe unleashed our sticker game, spreading the truth—and maybe some stress—across Alberta. The result? A cease-and-desist letter! Nothing screams “you’re over the target” like a threat from the lawyers. Lesson learned: we’re steering clearer of trouble (mostly).
Blowing Up AHS’s FailuresWe exposed:
The disastrous rollout of the private transfer network.
Rural ambulances being misused for non-clinical transfers.
A leadership team “leading” a workforce with zero faith in them.
Oh, and here’s the kicker: it’s priceless how much we’ve shifted the tone. Where AHS once made bold-faced lies with the confidence of a poker player holding four aces, they now make the most vague, non-committal, statements you’ve ever seen to the media. They’re skittish—because they know we’re watching. Look at their last statements to global news!
And how about that little tech change? You can’t even open email attachments on your phone anymore. Almost like AHS got tired of those juicy internal files getting sent directly to us. Coincidence? We think not.
Spreading the Message
From talking with paramedics across South and North Zones to getting shoutouts from the APA, our efforts have resonated with medics at every level. Oh, and let’s not forget—our Instagram blew up from 36 followers to 836. The bigger we get, the more leads we uncover, and the more AHS regrets our existence.
What’s Next?If you scroll down, you’ll see the receipts for every dollar we’ve spent this year. This post will be updated as we gather more records because transparency is the hill we’re dying on (not staffing levels, oddly enough).
Oh, and if you’re enjoying the chaos, consider donating to our GiveSendGo page. Your support fuels our fight to fix the system—one FOIP request and awkward leadership meeting at a time.
Here’s to 2025. May it bring more accountability, fewer cease-and-desist letters, and—dare we dream?—a functioning EMS system.
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