Off-duty B.C. paramedics walked the picket lines at about a dozen sites across the province yesterday during the first day of job action.
Ambulances will continue to be staffed throughout the strike. In Vancouver, falling snow greeted the 100 paramedics who walked the picket outside the B.C. Ambulance Service office in East Vancouver.
“Spirits are great this morning,” said John Strohmaier, president of the Ambulance Paramedics of B.C. “We’re really pleased with the turnout.”
Strohmaier repeated his call to Health Minister George Abbott to bring in veteran mediator Vince Ready to help with the negotiations.
B.J. Chute, a spokesman for the union, said the picketing paramedics will continue to “talk to the public about the deteriorating state facing the B.C. Ambulance Service.”
