The mayor of Altona applauds the province's move to add 60 new paramedic positions to its emergency services system.

Melvin Klassen has been critical of the ambulance response times in his community for the past number of years since the regional health authority took over the service from the town.

Klassen claims average ambulance response times on emergencies in Altona used to be 10 to 15 minutes when the service was operated by the town. However, since the Southern Health took over, response times have deteriorated significantly.

Klassen says adding almost five new paramedic jobs to the Altona EMS station is a step in the right direction

"We used to have two ambulances stationed in Altona but somewhere along the line one of them disappeared, which contributed to a decline in response times locally. So, this announcement is excellent news for us and I really feel it's going to improve the response times for us."

A total of 4.8 new paramedic jobs will be added to the Altona EMS garage while Boundary Trails Hospital will also receive another 4.8 positions.