Loss of Grand Manan's very own air ambulance makes impact after one week

The mayor of Grand Manan, N.B. says residents are cautiously optimistic about recent discussions to bring back the island’s very own air ambulance.

New federal regulations effectively grounded the service a week ago, after Ambulance New Brunswick and island-based Atlantic Charter were unable to form an agreement under the framework.

On Wednesday, the Moncton-based Ambulance New Brunswick medevac service was dispatched to Grand Manan for an emergency call. It was unable to land on the island due to weather.

A search and rescue helicopter from CFB Greenwood was sent to complete the emergency call.

“The good news is the patient made it to Saint John and is okay, at least the last I heard,” says Grand Manan Mayor Bonnie Morse. “I hear from a lot of people who are anxious about what will happen, or what could happen, if they or a loved one needs medical attention on the mainland. It leaves us in a really bad situation.”

On Thursday, village officials met with Premier Blaine Higgs, Minister of Health Bruce Fitch, and local Progressive Conservative MLA Andrea Anderson-Mason.

The new policies from Transport Canada regulate more rest and less flying time for pilots in a bid to address fatigue. Atlantic Charters says it would have to add more pilots in order to comply with the new standards, first revealed in 2018.

“I’m concerned it took us getting to this point to be able to have these conversations,” says Morse. “But at least the conversations are happening now.”

“We also had a conversation around designating Grand Manan as an isolated community because there are different restrictions and different requirements around that designation.”

Morse says island residents knew it would only be a matter of time before weather diverted an emergency flight from the mainland, adding it’s happened several times during previous lapses of a Grand Manan-based medevac service.

“There’s a difference between just being worried about something and having a reason to be worried,” says Morse.

In a written statement Thursday, Atlantic Charter said it had outlined pending issues ahead of the Transport Canada deadline “numerous times” with Ambulance New Brunswick and the provincial government.

“We are saddened by the position we have all been put in and look for a resolution with the province that benefits our community,” said Melanie Sonnenberg, President of Atlantic Charter.