Paramedic Memorial Bell Makes Its Way To Muskoka

As it continues its journey across the province, the Paramedic Memorial Bell made a stop in Muskoka this weekend, giving local paramedics a chance to honour their fallen colleagues.

The memorial bell is usually a feature of the Tour Paramedic Ride, an annual cycling event to raise awareness and funding for the creation of a monument in Ottawa to commemorate paramedics who have died in the line of duty. While the event usually sees groups of Canadians taking to their bikes in support of paramedics, this year’s ride was cancelled due to COVID-19. Instead, the ride has gone virtual and the memorial bell is going on a tour of Ontario, being passed from one paramedic service to the next until it returns to its final destination in Ottawa.

“They were unable to have the ride because of COVID,” said Muskoka Paramedics Commander Joe Korstanje, “but it created a neat opportunity for the memorial, [which is] a bell, to go around to each service and spend a little bit of time there so that all the paramedics in the country can pay their respects and see the bell and pay tribute to those people who have made the ultimate sacrifice while at work.” 

Muskoka Paramedic Services got their chance to have the bell this weekend, hosting a small ceremony at their Bracebridge station on Aug. 24 before passing off the bell to continue its excursion across Ontario.

For more information on the Tour Paramedic Ride, or to make a donation for the monument, visit the Paramedic Ride website and Facebook page.