I’d like to begin with a warm welcome to 2026. I hope you all had the chance to recharge with friends and family this holiday season. The end of every year is a time of reflection, and I’m always amazed at how much can shift in such a short time. Last year, we established foundational pieces to advance paramedicine education in Alberta, we celebrated 25 years and introduced the sought-after challenge coins, and we expanded our LMS system to provide you with better learning opportunities.
I’m incredibly proud of all that we accomplished and I’m excited to share important initiatives and pieces of what will come next. This next year will be a time of collaboration, refocusing and redefining our road map.
Council will be reviewing and updating the College’s Strategic Plan. This plan defines our Core Ideology, Purpose, Mission and Values. Those key pieces of our identity are used as a framework for decision-making, resource allocation and priority setting which ensures effective and efficient regulation of the paramedic profession. The current 2022-2027 Strategic Plan is available at any time on the College website. I look forward to sharing the new plan at the end of this year.
Over the past few months, the provincial government has passed multiple bills notable to the paramedicine profession, including Bills 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 53. We are focusing our attention on thoroughly assessing how these bills may impact the profession and will be providing updates throughout the year. We encourage you to familiarize yourself with the changes and to watch for updates. Bill 53, the Compassionate Intervention Act, follows in the footsteps of similar bills recently passed in Manitoba and British Columbia, which may give members a sense of what to expect.
Over the next year, we ask you to watch for collaboration opportunities where your voice can be heard. In the coming months, the Member Survey will be distributed which we use to help identify areas for improvement and to navigate major changes. This survey will also help Council focus their development of the Strategic Plan. Additionally, as the College works through any legislative changes, important opportunities such as consultation requests will be shared. Member participation is a vital piece of co-regulation. We look forward to gathering valuable feedback from you and continuing to keep an open line of communication. Whether your focus is on ground ambulance services, in industrial or administrative fields or leadership positions, we hope you will contribute your voice.
On behalf of us all at the College and Council, thank you all for your hard work throughout 2025 and cheers to a bright year ahead.
Wendy Dugas, CEO