Alberta
Provincial report recommends doubling support and making STARS sole air ambulance provider

Helicopter Emergency Medical Services Report released
A report on Alberta’s helicopter emergency medical services looks at existing services, gaps in coverage, best practices and procedures, and funding models.
Over the coming months, the Government of Alberta will evaluate the report and consult with helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) providers before making any final decisions.
The Helicopter Emergency Medical Services Report has 11 recommendations, with the three main recommendations being:
- Single provider: Shock Trauma Air Rescue Service (STARS) would become the dedicated helicopter emergency medical service provider for the province. STARS would work with other helicopter emergency medical providers to ensure consistent, safe coverage across Alberta. Provincial funding for STARS would rise to 50 per cent of their operating budget (from the current 23 per cent).
- Legislation: A new air ambulance regulation would establish consistent deployment, operational, clinical and aviation standards.
- Dispatch integration: The dispatch of STARS would be integrated with other emergency medical services to allow for the best use of all services to achieve the most efficient response.
“Thank you to the HEMS providers and community leaders who provided their perspective on the delivery of helicopter emergency medical services in Alberta. We all agree that in life-threatening situations, Albertans need to know that they can get the help they need – no matter where they are. We will be reviewing the report further and consulting with HEMS providers in the coming months to determine next steps.”
Quick facts
- Helicopter emergency medical services are essential when ground ambulances cannot reach Albertans during a medical emergency or they are unable to reach them in a safe and timely manner.
- Alberta Health Services is responsible for the delivery of emergency medical services across Alberta, including ground, fixed-wing and helicopter ambulances.
- Currently, Alberta Health Services provides about $8.4 million per year to helicopter emergency medical services funding.
- Approximately 1,450 helicopter flights take place each year; 7,300 are flown using fixed-wing aircraft.
- The three main helicopter service providers that support emergency medical services are:
- STARS (Shock Trauma Air Rescue Service)
- Bases are located in Calgary, Edmonton and Grande Prairie.
- In 2019-20, STARS flew 1,255 missions (about 92.6 per cent of all missions).
- STARS covers 90 per cent of Alberta’s rural and remote population without refuelling from its current base locations.
- STARS is the only provider that delivers critical care level service on 24-7 dedicated helicopters with advanced life-support equipment.
- HALO (Helicopter Air Lift Operation)
- Based in Medicine Hat, it serves southeast Alberta.
- In 2019-20, HALO flew 38 missions (about 2.8 per cent of all missions).
- HERO (Helicopter Emergency Response Organization)
- Based in Fort McMurray, it serves northeast Alberta.
- In 2019-20, HERO flew 62 missions (about 4.6 per cent of all missions).
- STARS (Shock Trauma Air Rescue Service)
- Currently, there are no regulations guiding the standards of air ambulance medical services in Alberta.
Alberta
Leading proponent of Alberta Independence predicts provincial referendum in 2025

Jeffrey Rath
Over one third of Albertans already support Independence from Ottawa
You know that Alberta is making progress towards an independence referendum in 2025 when both Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Alberta Communist Leader Naheed Nenshi are discussing, considering, or teasing an Alberta Independence Referendum to be held in 2025.
This level of agreement between the two party leaders on the need for an independence referendum is demonstrative of the degree to which Alberta conversations on independence from Canada have taken hold around family dinner tables and in the pubs and community halls of the Commonwealth of Alberta.
Independent Journalist Rachel Parker has recently commissioned a poll that has support for Alberta Independence at 37%. It is noteworthy that there is presently 37% popular support for independence WITHOUT Albertans being educated on the benefits of Independence from Canada. Some of these benefits include:
- 60,000,000,000.00 (60 BILLION) dollars a year would remain in Alberta as opposed to being sent to Ottawa for “redistribution” to the mismanaged provinces of Canada.
- NO FEDERAL INCOME TAX
- NO CARBON TAX
- NO CAPITAL GAINS TAX
- NO GST
- NO EXCISE TAX
- NO MORE FEDERAL GUN GRABS
- NO MORE FEDERAL OVER REGULATION OF SPEECH, INTERNET COMMUNICATION, AGRICULTURE, TRAVEL, HEALTH, RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT, OR OTHER MATTERS OF CONCERN TO ALBERTANS.
- NO MORE MISGOVERNANCE BY FEDERAL POLITICIANS ELECTED BY MONTREAL AND TORONTO TO RULE ALBERTA.
The day Alberta declares independence Alberta’s GDP per capita would place Alberta as the the NUMBER ONE COUNTRY IN THE WORLD on the measure of GDP per capita. The end of all federal taxation and regulation will prompt an economic boom and overnight will increase the disposable income of every Albertan by at LEAST 35%.
This column is a call to action. Every Albertan fed up with having our rulers chosen by Toronto and Montreal need to forward this column to Danielle Smith and request that she pass the ALBERTA INDEPENDENCE REFERENDUM ACT.
THE ALBERTA INDEPENDENCE REFERENDUM ACT
Whereas successive Canadian Federal Governments have exceeded their constitutional jurisdiction through property seizures, excessive taxation and natural resource regulation aimed at the destruction of Alberta’s autonomy and sovereignty; and
Whereas the Government of Alberta has been mandated by referendum to bring an end to the payment of “equalization” dollars to provinces of Canada who continually mismanage their public finances;
The Alberta Legislature hereby enacts The Alberta Independence Referendum Act.
1. Within 6 months of every Canadian Federal Election the Government of Alberta shall call a provincial referendum on the Independence of Alberta from Canada.
2. The referendum question shall take the following form:
“Further to the over taxation and unconstitutional overreach of successive Governments of Canada aimed at harming the sovereign citizens of Alberta for the political benefit of successive governments of Canada, The Citizens of Alberta vote to remove Alberta from the Canadian Federation and form an Independent Commonwealth of Alberta.”
3. In furtherance of this legislation all Federal and Provincial taxes in Alberta shall be collected by the Government of Alberta.
4. Only such proportion of such taxes deemed by the government of Alberta to be for the common benefit of the Citizens of Alberta shall be remitted to the Government of Canada.
BY requiring a referendum following every Canadian Federal Election politicians pandering for votes from the idiots that think taxes can change the weather would have to consider the consequences of running on platforms that are based on the continued maldistribution of Alberta’s wealth.
Albertans need to understand that they would prosper by voting to confirm Alberta Independence from greedy politicians in Quebec and Ontario who claim to represent the failed colonial state of “Canada”.
An Alberta Dollar backed by the 3rd largest energy reserves in the world and the wealth of the Alberta Economy would be a stable currency with far greater value than the debt mired Canadian fiat currency.
Alberta Pensioners would see increased pension rates as Alberta could self fund Alberta Pensions out of the 60 BILLION no longer being siphoned out of Alberta by Quebec and Ontario until the 300 BILLION plus share of the Canada Pension plan was repatriated to Alberta.
Albertans need to write to Premier Smith and require her to pass the ALBERTA INDEPENDENCE REFERENDUM ACT prior to the expiry of the writ period for the next Federal Election. Regardless of whether a Conman Carney Liberal Government is elected or a Poilievre Conservative Government is elected, Federal Politicians need to be put on notice that they will continue to ignore or misgovern Alberta at their peril. By requiring an independence referendum following every Federal Election Alberta Voters will have the option of opting out of being governed by who ever Montreal and Toronto voters choose to misgovern Alberta against the will of the Citizens of Alberta.
There is no good reason or excuse for not creating a mechanism that will allow Albertans to put both the Government of Canada and the Government of Alberta on notice of their continued desire to remain in Canada following every Federal Election.
Legislation requiring a vote on independence following every federal election would give Danielle Smith and future leaders the leverage that they need to protect Alberta from globalists like Carney. Albertans should also beware that Pierre Poilievre has made it clear that a Conservative government will not stop Alberta wealth transfers to Quebec or stop ripping off Albertans for the benefit of the Laurentian Elite.
Remember, it’s all fun and games until someone loses a province.
Jeffrey R.W. Rath
Alberta
Prime Minister Carney needs to clearly state his position on the federal emissions cap: Premier Smith

Premier Danielle Smith issued the following statement in response to Canada’s new Environment Minister Terry Duguid’s plans to keep the emissions cap in place:
“Yesterday, in my discussions with Prime Minister Mark Carney, I made it clear Alberta will no longer tolerate an emissions cap on oil and gas – which absolutely works like a production cap that scares away billions in investment and thousands of jobs, makes us more dependent on the United States, and has been found by Ottawa’s own Parliamentary Budget Office to be greatly destructive to the Canadian economy.
“The Prime Minister told me in yesterday’s meeting – and then later in his press conference with the media that same day – that he was not in favour of hard caps like that. He said he was interested in results – in getting projects like pipelines in the ground. That was good to hear because we all know you can’t fill new pipelines and cap oil production at the same time.
“The Prime Minister’s words sounded kind of nice yesterday – until I found out that his new environment minister had just told media on the other side of the country that the federal Liberals would be keeping the emissions cap in place.
“This has been the same story for the last 10 years. Liberals come to Alberta – smile for the cameras – tell everyone how much they are going to work with Alberta and support the energy sector. Then they leave, go home, and proceed to do everything in their power to roadblock and scare away investment from the energy sector.
“Now they are doing it when Canadians are literally demanding that we build new pipelines and production to become more independent from the United States. So, it’s time for the Prime Minister to be clear with Canadians – is he prepared to lift this job killing, destructive and unconstitutional production cap law that his predecessor attacked us with – or not?
“Albertans and Canadians want the answer before they go to the polls – not after. In fact, we want the answer today. Who wasn’t telling the truth yesterday – the Prime Minister or his environment minister? We all deserve to know.”
Alberta Update brings you the latest news on what’s happening in your province. We will hear from Premier Danielle Smith, Minister of Environment and Protected Areas, Rebecca Schulz, as well as the Minister of Justice Mickey Amery on this week’s top news: Alberta energy, Critical Infrastructure Defence Amendment Act, oil/gas cap, carbon tax and more. (Including Premier Smith’s thoughts on the emissions cap)
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