NEWS RELEASE
MPP GILLES BISSON
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QUEEN'S PARK - During question period Thursday, Gilles Bisson, NDP MPP for Timmins-James Bay demanded that the Wynne government protect northern patients by stopping an extended summer shutdown of the Ornge air ambulance base in Moosonee.
“We’re not doing that anywhere else in the province, where we shut down bases when we do the maintenance on helicopters,” Bisson said. “Why is the Liberal government allowing the shutdown of Moosonee?”
Heavy maintenance of Ornge’s C-GYNZ aircraft based in Moosonee was planned from June 1 to July 31, when the helicopters will be shipped to Ornge’s London hangar. However, that maintenance is now expected to last straight through to September.
While transportation alternatives are in place for patients, none can respond as quickly as the Moosonee air ambulance helicopter.
“Why are we allowing Ornge to shut down the Moosonee rotary wing base in order to maintain helicopters, when we don’t do that anywhere else in the province? Can you please look at it and turn this around?” Bisson said.
The nearest rotar-wing aircraft that will be able to respond to coastal communities during this shutdown is in Sudbury.
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