The City of Yellowknife is proposing an ambulance fee increase alongside its new draft budget as a means of bringing in more revenue.
At a briefing on Friday, protective services director Craig MacLean said the department had audited the current fee and proposed an increase due to the high volume of incidents.
He said things like the cost of fuel and wage increases have affected the cost of providing ambulance service.
MacLean said the proposed increase is not necessarily one residents will bear. Fees for ambulance trips are mostly covered “either through insurance or government systems like Non-Insured Health Benefits,” he said, referring to the federal program that covers medical costs for some Indigenous people.
“When you look at the overall ability to increase our revenue, and also at the same time contemplate not just burdening residents with an increased cost, there was an opportunity there for the city.”
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Currently, Yellowknife residents pay $325 for an ambulance pick-up within city limits. City staff are proposing that be bumped up to $360.
Similarly, costs for those from the NWT who aren’t Yellowknife residents would jump from $500 to $560.
Kavi Pandoo, the city’s director of finance, said this fee increase is expected to bring in an additional $1.5 million annually.
What the increase actually looks like per ambulance trip was not immediately available.
Residents are invited to submit feedback and questions about the draft budget to city council. A meeting for the public to provide input is scheduled for November 30 at City Hall.
Councillors are set to deliberate the budget from December 7-10 and approve a final budget on December 16.
