Yukon College reinstates paramedic course

Yukon College has reinstated its paramedic training course after the Yukon government stepped up with $23,000 in "one time" funding to make the program viable.

The college cancelled the Primary Care Paramedic program at the last minute last week when two of the nine registered students dropped out.

Yukon College is paying the Justice Institute of B.C. just over $100,000 to deliver the course. Tuition for the Yukon College program is $11,500.

Fabienne Brulhart, one of the registered students, lobbied to have the program restored.

"It is a very expensive course and there would have been options to do it in B.C. where you can do it for about one-third the cost, but I'm committed to live in the Yukon and do a Yukon education and that's why I've chosen the Yukon College to take the program at."

College president, Karen Barnes, says program organizers didn't realize how passionate students were about a paramedic career.

"There's already been some very serious conversations internally about how we can do better at ensuring we have the market for a program, that we have all the costs taken into account and contingencies on every program so we don't face this narrow margin again,” Barnes says.