The risks posed to Grand Manan residents by not having an island-based medevac operator were illustrated again on Friday, February 10, when two medical emergencies occurred and Ambulance New Brunswick's (ANB) plane was unable to transport either.
      Atlantic Charters provided medevac flights for islanders for 40 years, but that service was grounded in December by new Transport Canada regulations affecting pilots' duty and rest times, and contract negotiations with ANB stalled. The local company would need more pilots to cover the hours needed for medevac availability on top of their regular charter business. Thus, patients needing emergency transport to the mainland must now hope that the ANB plane will be available and able to land.
      This was not the case on February 10. A man had to be flown out by the Canadian Forces, echoing a similar airlift in December, the week after Atlantic Charters' service ended. Lt. Commander Len Hickey, senior public affairs officer for Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Halifax (JRCC), says a Cormorant helicopter was dispatched from Canadian Forces Base Greenwood at ANB's request. Hickey says they received the call at 3:42 p.m. The Cormorant departed Greenwood at 4:26 and reached Grand Manan at 5:55 p.m. There was fog, a 200-foot cloud ceiling and less than two nautical miles of visibility. They tried the airport but weather prevented a landing there, so they set down in a clear spot at Pettes Cove. The injured patient and two medical staff reached the mainland destination at 7:38 p.m. His airlift came five hours after his trauma, according to his wife.
      Hickey says the province is not billed for the flights, and per-mission cost information is not available at the operational level. The Halifax search and rescue region covers some 4.7 million square kilometres that is 80% water. It includes more than 29,000 kilometres of coastline, all four Atlantic provinces, the eastern half of Quebec, the southern half of Baffin Island in Nunavut and the northwestern quadrant of the Atlantic Ocean. JRCC receives about 2,500 calls for assistance per year, of which roughly 75% are maritime incidents, 10% are air incidents and 15% are requests for humanitarian aid. Armed forces assets are tasked to respond to approximately 400 search and rescue missions each year in eastern Canada. Hickey says the types of flights they have been asked to provide for Grand Manan are not common.
      Another woman on Grand Manan had a stroke the same morning, and with an estimated wait of several hours for an ANB flight, she was sent away on the 11:30 a.m. ferry. Further details on her experience were unavailable.
      Island residents once again took to social media urging email campaigns to politicians and sharing dozens of stories of their own and family members' medevac flights, with an overwhelming number stating they "might not be here today" if not for Atlantic Charters' quick response.
      Mayor Bonnie Morse assures residents the issue has not been forgotten: "We continue to raise it anytime we talk to [provincial officials]; we're still looking for a resolution from the province. Grand Manan residents need the same access to healthcare as the rest of the province." She hadn't heard details of the two incidents but says, "I'm glad the patients were able to get to Saint John to get the care they needed. But obviously having JRCC [conduct the flights] is not a long-term solution. We need more stability."
      MP John Williamson states: "I think everyone except for Transport Canada understands that using military transport from Nova Scotia for medical emergencies on Grand Manan Island is not a viable solution. The moment I learned how federal regulations would impact Grand Manan's local air ambulance service, I contacted island and Atlantic Charters officials as well as the province and the federal Minister of Transport, Omar Alghabra. Afterward, I received confirmation from the federal Minister's Office at Transport Canada that these regulations do not apply to the air ambulance side of Atlantic Charters' flight services. However, they also explained that these regulations are not new and have been published to come into force since 2018 by the Trudeau government.
      "Being remote, Grand Manan has unique requirements that require unique solutions, but so far Minister Alghabra and his officials do not understand that one-size-fits-all policy changes harm rural and remote communities. This continues to be a hallmark of how the Trudeau government implements policy decisions. I would like to note that the province has also been working directly with Transport Canada to secure an exemption for Grand Manan for the entire policy. The ongoing contract discussions are between the province and Atlantic Charters, and I am again ready to help in any way that I can."
      ANB Director of Communications and Stakeholder Relations Christianna Williston responded to questions with an official statement, which reads: "I can confirm that [ANB] received a high priority transfer request Friday, February 10, from Grand Manan to Saint John. Both ANB's Air Ambulance and Nova Scotia's EHS LifeFlight were available but unable to fly to Grand Manan and/or Saint John due to weather limitations which prohibited the use of either plane. Following our existing protocols and policies, ANB contacted the [JRCC] to request their support for the high priority transfer. JRCC was available and responded. The patient was transported to the Saint John Regional Hospital. We are happy to report that the contingency plans that have been put in place for bad weather events such as these have worked as they were intended. Discussions related to air ambulance needs in Grand Manan are ongoing."
      Atlantic Charters president Melanie Sonnenberg says there have been no further negotiations between the company and ANB since December.