OPA Political Action Fund
The Political Action Fund was created to advocate for patients and paramedics. This fund enables the OPA to secure a Government Relations firm staffed by policy advisors and political strategists to engage government with and on behalf of paramedics.
Why is a Political Action Fund required?
As paramedicine continues to evolve as a health profession, it must also develop the institutional capacities to influence public policy. A Political Action Fund is essential to ensure that paramedics have a strong, coordinated, and credible voice at the provincial level where key decisions about healthcare funding, regulation, and scope of practice are made.
A hallmark of professionalization and meaningful contributions is establishing a unified representative body that can effectively engage with policymakers and assert the profession’s role in the broader health system. Professions that lack this capacity or sectors of the profession that are mandated to mainly prioritize local needs, risk marginalization in provincial health system planning, even as they shoulder increasingly complex responsibilities in patient care.
Government Relations
The Ontario Paramedic Association (OPA) uses its Political Action Fund to retain a dedicated government relations team, enabling consistent and expert engagement with political stakeholders. This fund ensures that the profession, not just the role, is recognized, valued, and positioned to shape policy decisions affecting patients and providers.
Without such advocacy infrastructure, paramedicine’s voice can be diluted or excluded from conversations that define its future and contributions. The Political Action Fund is not just an operational necessity—it is a strategic imperative for the advancement of paramedicine as a fully integrated and self-determining health profession.
Key contributions:
- Navigating complex political systems
- Securing policy influenc
- Agenda setting and timing
- Counterbalancing competing interests
- Building professional legitimacy
- Ongoing professionalization of paramedicine
Support the OPA Political Action Fund
If you'd like to contribute to the OPA Political Action Fund, please login to your member account and go to “My Political Action Fund".
Thank-you so much for your continued support.
