Hamilton's Emergency and Community Services Committee Receives 2025 Paramedic Service Report

Hamilton's Emergency and Community Services Committee received the 2025 Hamilton Paramedic Service annual report, which outlined rising call volumes, slightly longer response times, new care models, and plans for specialized paramedic operations in high-risk incidents. The committee also received reports on youth digital literacy and online harms, drowning prevention and waterfront safety, and approved delegated authority for certain paramedic service agreements.

Topics Discussed

1. HAMILTON PARAMEDIC SERVICE 2025 ANNUAL REPORT

Chief Russell Crocker presented the 2025 annual report and said, "Hamilton Paramedic Service does not keep the community safe alone. We do it together as a community for the greater good of our community."

The report said Hamilton Paramedic Service handled 93,458 911 calls in 2025, up 5.6 per cent from 2024, resulting in 112,214 responses and 64,065 hospital transports. Nearly 45 per cent of calls involved residents aged 65 and older. Mayor Andrea Horwath said response times increased by 11 seconds, "from 10:55 in 2024 to 11:06 in 2025," and attributed that to a 4.9 per cent increase in response volumes and the decision not to add response hours in the 2025 budget.

The service met five of six response-time targets, missing the sudden cardiac arrest target, though staff said compliance improved to 81 per cent in the first quarter of 2026. The report also said code zeros were at their lowest level in 15 years, 101 sudden cardiac arrest patients were successfully resuscitated in 2025, and 827 patients were transported to specialized heart, trauma, and stroke centres. Council-funded staffing increases included 55 additional full-time paramedics during this term and 10 more paramedics approved for 2026.

2. NEW PARAMEDIC CARE MODELS AND SPECIAL OPERATIONS

Committee members heard about new patient care models approved by the Ministry of Health, including palliative care at home, physician-supported care for some long-term care residents without hospital transfer, and alternative responses for some substance use and mental health calls.

Dr. Miller said the changes came from the province, calling it "a change at the higher levels of the Ministry of Health," and said implementation is still taking time. Chief Crocker said expanded care models require substantial training, describing "a very significant amount of training" to prepare paramedics for patient discharge, referrals, quality assurance, and new regulated responsibilities.

The committee also heard about plans for special operations paramedics trained to work in large events, protests, and other high-risk scenes. A paramedic added that the model would put crews "directly in there" to provide advanced care in real time.

3. FUNDING AND SERVICE PRESSURES

The paramedic service reported a gross operating budget of $85 million in 2025. According to the presentation, $47.5 million came from Ontario and $47.5 million was funded through the city tax levy. The Mobile Integrated Health program, budgeted at $2.9 million, was reported as fully provincially funded.

Chief Crocker said, "Hamilton paramedic services acknowledges that service growth at this rate is not sustainable over the long term." He said the service is responding by advocating for staffing in line with the master plan, refining deployment with the Ministry of Health, and pursuing secondary triage and alternative response models.

The report also cited 23,515 hospital offload delay hours in 2025, although hospitals improved average offload times to 35 minutes. Chief Crocker also warned that mobile integrated health funding "is not keeping pace with inflation" while calls increasingly require more complex, multi-agency responses and specialized training.

4. YOUTH DIGITAL LITERACY AND ONLINE HARMS

Jessica Chase, director of Children's and Community Services, presented report HSC26040 on youth digital literacy following a delegation earlier this year. The report said, "Hamont youth members report frequent exposure to online harms and limited access to consistent modern digital literacy supports."

Discussion included online hate, misinformation, AI-generated content, deepfakes, privacy, data collection, and misogyny. Chase said city communications staff are reviewing corporate social media policies and "will be bringing back a subsequent report to council in Q3."

Councillor Nrinder Nann asked whether council could direct staff toward something more specific on youth digital literacy. She said, "if council was looking for something more explicit that was directly related to youth digital literacy, we would be looking for further direction."

5. DROWNING PREVENTION AND WATERFRONT SAFETY

In report HSC26047, staff updated the committee on the Drowning Prevention and Swim to Survive Program and waterfront access. The city said additional life-saving equipment is planned for waterfront locations in 2026, and buoy housing units for Piers 6, 7, and 8 were scheduled for completion before the end of June.

Steve Savor, director of recreation, said, "Despite reduced provincial funding this year, the recreation division plans to maintain current participation levels through existing operating budgets." He added that expanding the program would require additional funding and consideration of facility availability, transportation, and school participation.

Councillor Nann asked about public education on where waterfront safety equipment is located and how to use it. Staff said educational materials were being developed for launch during Drowning Prevention Week in July.

Motions

• Hamilton Paramedic Service Delegated Authority (Item 8.1) — Passed unanimously. Approved delegated authority for the general manager of healthy and safe communities and the chief of Hamilton Paramedic Service to execute certain agreements and related business matters.
• HSC26040 - Youth Digital Literacy — Received/Carried unanimously.
• HSC26034 - Hamilton Paramedic Service 2025 Annual Report — Received.
• HSC26047 - Drowning Prevention and Swim to Survive Program and Waterfront Access — Received.

Attendees

• Mayor Andrea Horwath
• Councillor Alex Wilson
• Councillor Nrinder Nann