Ed: Canadian Helicopters posted this under the title “To the People of Ontario”, mostly as a way of concluding 35 years and 155,000 flying hours serving the province.  However, it is also seen as a way of distancing the company from the Ornge debacle

Thank you for your business and your trust.

Some of you may know that Canadian Helicopters has been the provider of helicopter Emergency Medical Services to the Province of Ontario. Many may not know we have done so uninterrupted since the inception of the program in 1977. Over that period we delivered this critical service through the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care and most recently under contract to Ornge.

During our years of service, we transported over 140,000 patients, flying 155,000 hours from bases in Ottawa, Toronto, London, Sudbury, Moosonee, Thunder Bay and Kenora. From landing at accident scenes in busy urban environments to moving critical patients from remote communities we remained committed to serving Ontario.

Acknowledged as one of the safest EMS Helicopter Operations in the world, we maintained the delivery of service at an industry leading level. We provided launch capable helicopters, each staffed with four highly skilled crew members, 24 hours per day, 365 days per year – more than 97% of the time.

We delivered the highest levels of service because of the trust you placed in us and our employees. We provided a group of experienced competent professionals, including pilots, aircraft maintenance engineers, paramedics and support staff who came to work really wanting to do a good job and did so with enthusiasm, believing in who they worked for and what they did. We had many people with over 20 years service – and we are truly thankful for their loyalty. It was a team effort and every single member played an important role.

We wish to thank our managers and our front line employees for their dedication to patient care and safety, and want them to know we are proud to have worked with them.

March 31st marked the final handover of the service to Ornge, who commenced providing the service on January 13, 2012 in stages and base-by-base, and who will now provide the service on an exclusive basis.

We at Canadian Helicopters believe we have provided reliable, safe and efficient Emergency Medical Service to the people of Ontario. We hope you agree.

Thank you for the 35 years.
Yours sincerely,
Don Wall
President and Chief Executive Officer

About Canadian Helicopters Group Inc.
Canadian Helicopters Group is an international provider of helicopter transportation and related support services with fixed primary operations in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and regions of Southeast Asia. The group also delivers contracted on demand support in Afghanistan and Antarctica. Charter operations are provided under two brands: Helicopters New Zealand. (HNZ) in the Asia Pacific and Antarctica regions and Canadian Helicopters Limited (CHL) in Canada and Afghanistan. In addition to charter services, the Company provides flight training and third party repair and maintenance services. With headquarters near Montreal, Canada, the Company operates 140 helicopters and employs approximately 800 personnel.