Doug Holyday balks at EMS demands, going out of his way to look stubborn

Doug Holyday balks at EMS demands, going out of his way to look stubborn

Doug Holyday may have finally blundered on the PR front (Image: Christopher Drost)

While Doug Holyday has been a key part of the city’s effort to look like the reasonable party in the ongoing labour negotiations (read: public relations battle), he now appears determined to prove himself to be the opposite. Earlier this week, a group of roughly 250 EMS workers rallied outside city hall, demanding to be deemed an essential service. The paramedics are particularly concerned that a work stoppage would make for a smaller workforce and slower response times. (The rally, by the way, comes while an inquest examining the death of a man waiting for an ambulance is underway). But unlike some other executive committee members, Holyday doesn’t think council should grant essential service status in the midst of a labour dispute. Because if CUPE wants to ask for something, says the deputy mayor, “they can do it at the negotiating table.” Read the entire story [CBC] »