Province Reassures Band About Future Of Airline

Province Reassures Band About Future Of Airline

Monday, March 01, 2010 at 13:20

The provincial government is insisting it hasn’t given up on a northern Saskatchewan air service.

Last week, the chief of the Clearwater River Dene Nation criticized the government for not using Clearwater Aviaiton more.

The band-owned company has a plane available for medivac flights 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Chief Roy Cheecham says the province has been using its own air ambulance service to ferry patients to hospitals in southern Saskatchewan in medical emergencies, but he argues it takes longer than it should.

EMS Services director Patrick O’Byrne says, right now, there aren’t enough trained medical attendants in the La Loche area to go on the local plane.

O’Byrne says Saskatchewan Health will start using Clearwater Aviation more when those personnel are in place.

He stresses the health region is still using Clearwater Aviation whenever it can.