People here hoping to speak to delays in ambulance service for the town will have to wait a little longer to express their feelings.
A widely anticipated meeting on Oct. 29 to discuss ambulance wait times and service for the community has been postponed.
Guelph recently informed Erin officials the public meeting has been put off and town staff sent the following message to councillors about the change.
“We regret to inform you that the ambulance meeting that was scheduled for Oct. 29 has now been postponed. You will be contacted as soon as a new date has been rescheduled. Sorry for any inconvenience.”
County councillor Lou Maieron was somewhat put out about the whole issue. He said in an interview he was never formally informed of the meeting in the first place, after making a presentation to the ambulance committee last month. And he was also not told the oct. 29 meeting was cancelled.
He said it is possible some Guelph officials are unaware he is a county ward councillor and does not sit on Erin council.
“I only heard about it from [Erin councillor] Ken Chapman,” Maieron said.
In an interview on Tuesday, Erin Clerk Kathryn Ironmonger said Guelph officials contacted the town to say that the meeting date was inconvenient for some, so it would reschedule so all those involved could attend.
Maieron and Chapman have been championing faster ambulance service for the Erin area. Guelph has control over land ambulance for the city and county, but Erin’s wait times have for years been well above the provincially mandated times.
After much cajoling at a land ambulance committee meeting in September, Guelph agreed to consider an ambulance for the Erin area in next year’s budget.
Maieron has noted Erin area pays close to $1-million for ambulance service, so it has a right to better service than it has been receiving.
