Poster Protest Against EMS cuts

The City of Thunder Bay is responsible for the administration of emergency medical services to many smaller communities across the north shore of Lake Superior. These small towns and villages rely on EMS to provide emergency services across a vast geographic area. In some cases it can be a three hour ride to the Thunder Bay regional hospital.

When factoring in the increase in traffic on a highway that is comprised of only two lanes in some areas and has seen increases in truck transport and includes the extra impact of winter conditions, it becomes extremely hazardous to journey out on these routes. When an incident occurs rescue teams from surrounding areas often share resources and in extreme cases units from two towns will combine their efforts. This of course can lead to delays and often no coverage at all if an emergency were to occur in one of the towns while the local crews were dispatched to a road accident.

Schreiber, Terrace Bay, Beardmore, Nipigon and Red Rock have one ambulance each but the latest proposal by the city of Thunder Bay stands to change all that. The proposal is to reduce the current service by half with Schreiber and Terrace Bay sharing one EMS unit. Nipigon and Red Rock would also share one unit and Beardmore would have its only ambulance taken away as it was amalgamated with what is now known as Greenstone.

That reduction service could see tragic consequences but it gets even trickier and potentially more scary. Under the new proposal, not only would units be scaled back to one being shared between two communities ( technically 5 in the Schreiber area if you include the villages of Rossport, Pays Plat and Jackfish). Adding insult to injury, a new facility would have to be built in one of these towns which will only cause friction between communities as they not only compete to host the service but then carry the additional financial burden of building and maintaining that facility. 

Once this proposal was announced, outrage over the idea grew amongst residents who depend on the service. Hot on the heels of an online petition started by local resident Carrie Thrower Moore and a subsequent video posted by Schreiber Media Centre with Carrie, Mayor Kevin Mullins put forward the idea that residents put up signs in their windows and front lawns to show their dislike for the proposed cuts. Mayor Mullins was moved by the interview and contacted Kim Krause of SMC to propose producing a short film highlighting the resentment and anger of the citizens.

Over 800 posters were on display between the two towns of Schreiber and Terrace Bay and also Rossport. Kim Krause, David Costa and Carrie Moore set out to film every sign and interview residents. It would take two days and many miles of walking around to complete the initial task of the collection of all the shots needed to produce the short film.

Surprised by the outpouring of support it was decided to produce two films, one would try and show every sign and poster and interview gathered so all residents would have a chance to see their work and share their stories with viewers. However the main purpose of the project was to convince councillors in Thunder Bay that their decision to go ahead with cuts to the service would have grave consequences on the municipalities that need EMS so this shorter version is being released in hope of convincing those responsible that EMS saves lives in small communities.