Quebec Paramedics Uphold the Dignity of Labour
Quebec paramedics are grappling with difficult working conditions, having been without a collective agreement for over three years, in addition to an exodus of paramedics to other professions due to insufficient pay and excessive workloads. For example, in the National Capital region, the workload reached 143 per cent in April 2026, a six per cent increase over one year, increasing the number of cases of burnout and departures.
In Quebec, the term "paramedic" refers to a paramedical ambulance technician who provides both safe transport and advanced prehospital emergency care. A paramedic is a recognized professional who must have completed a three-year program in pre-hospital emergency care or, for those with prior health care experience, an Attestation of College Studies (ACS).
Although Quebec paramedics have been on strike since last year, essential services to the public are being maintained, including responding to 911 calls as normal. However, the paramedics will stop performing various non-essential tasks, such as paperwork. They are also going on rotating strike with management staff replacing them.
The paramedics' struggle deserves the support of all. Their working conditions are the conditions of frontline care to the people. They are fighting not only to defend their rights as a collective, but also to defend the right of everyone to a modern health care system.
On the eve of May Day, International Day of Working Class Unity and Struggle, TML interviewed François Perron, paramedic and Vice-President of the Federation of Health and Social Services of the Quebec Confederation of National Trade-Unions (Eastern Townships) about their battle. François has been a paramedic in the Sherbrooke region for 10 years.
TML: Can you tell us about the current situation facing paramedics who have been on strike since last summer and without a contract for over three years?
François Perron: Our demands focus
primarily on wages, equity with the public sector (specifically that
paramedics should receive the 17.4 per cent increase that the public
sector negotiated in 2023 to cover 2023-2028), and recognition that
the
service we provide is
essential. The government's initial offer represented an actual pay
cut
– a five per cent reduction in wages. We are fighting to get that
17.4
per cent other public sector workers fought to get, but the
government
doesn't want to spend more.[1] The government tells us it
has a financial
framework to
adhere to and that our demands exceed that framework. And that's
what's
really the major sticking point right now. It all adds to
the
decline we have been experiencing for over three years due to the
rising cost of living. It
seems we are being asked to give up what is rightfully ours. It
doesn't
change the fact that our demands are fair.
We look after people, we work with the public and we want that to be recognized. We want to be respected. It is an essential job. And precisely because it is essential, we cannot go on a full strike as a means of exerting pressure. We are just like other essential workers, such as firefighters and police officers. Meanwhile, the government has its own definition of what is "essential" based on what it says is available money and concludes it cannot give us any more. We do not accept that.
There is also an issue of back pay. For example, I have staff with at least 12 years of service. In 2022, they were at the top of the pay scale. In the current economic climate, everything is more expensive, much more expensive. These are people with families, with children, so it's a huge source of stress. That's one of the main sticking points. The union leadership met, looked at what the government put on the table and refused to accept it.
As we like to say, if you've never wrapped a body during a work shift, you shouldn't be deciding how much paramedics earn. If you've never seen a person choke to death on their own blood, you shouldn't be deciding how much paramedics earn. If someone has never tried to punch you in the face for trying to assess the state of a patient, you shouldn't be deciding how much paramedics earn. If someone has never begged you not to let them die, you shouldn't be deciding how much paramedics earn.
I'm going to read you an excerpt from a letter I wrote on April 14. "It has been three years and 13 days since the collective agreement expired. The one that's supposed to cover 2023 to 2028 is already well underway; in fact, this contract, which has not yet been signed, has less time left than the time that has already elapsed. Over the past six years, paramedics have been without a collective agreement or in negotiations for five years. Five years out of the last six. Now they're dangling the prospect of a Professional Order of Paramedics that will tell us how wonderful and clever we are.[2]
"We
act professionally with or without a professional order. We are
professionals, with or without a professional order, and let me say
that the government does not treat us as professionals, and the talk
about a professional order at this time is a diversion. It is neither
the priority nor the
solution to the problems the pre-hospital system is currently facing.
"A paramedic with 16 years of seniority or more has not had a pay raise in four years. In 2022, the inflation we were experiencing was just the tip of the iceberg compared to what we're facing today. Why add so much stress to a profession that already has more than its fair share? They call us 'guardian angels,' 'unsung heroes,' 'essential workers,' the 'first or second profession people trust the most,' yet treat us like gum stuck on the bottom of a shoe. I don't want the pre-hospital system to reach the point where we have to say 'we told you so.' We are doing more with less and less; we are already efficient and 'high-performing.' The work we do needs to be recognized before 'less' is no longer enough. We are not talking about making weapons, we are not talking about a factory or a plant. We are talking about looking after people, looking after the 'real people' politicians talk about endlessly."
TML: What is your message to workers for May Day?
FP: For May Day, International Workers' Day, my message is that we must demand to be respected.
Note
1. The Common Front of public sector unions reached an agreement with the Quebec government in December 2023 for annual wage increases totaling 17.4 per cent over five years, covering 2023 to 2028. The wage increases agreed upon were six per cent on April 1, 2023, 2.8 per cent on April 1, 2024, 2.6 per cent on April 1, 2025, 2.5 per cent on April 1, 2026, and 3.5 per cent on April 1, 2027. The last three years include an inflation protection clause up to a maximum of one per cent.
2. In April 2026, the government of Quebec officially resumed the work to establish a professional association for paramedic ambulance technicians. This proposal is seen as a distraction in the current context, as the government refuses to provide them with the working conditions and pay necessary to fulfill their responsibilities.
(Translated from original French by TML.)
This article was published in
Volume 56 Number 28 - May 2, 2026
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/TML2026/Articles/T560281.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca