Silas: Federal leadership needed to make nursing jobs the best in our communities April 16, 2024 (Ottawa, ON) – Canada’s nurses are encouraged by the federal government’s commitments in Budget 2024 to invest in healthy communities, including a national school food program, housing initiatives and pushing forward pharmacare implementation. “Health is connected to every facet […]
Read MoreSilas: Safe nurse-patient ratios critically needed to bring down the pressure and protect patient care March 14, 2024 (Ottawa, ON) – Persistent staffing shortages have left nurses bearing the crushing weight of overcapacity health care systems across the country. Nurses are chronically working without sufficient resources, with seven in 10 nurses reporting workplaces that are […]
Read MoreSilas: Together, we’ll make it clear, “L’union fait la force!” March 13, 2024 (Ottawa, ON) – “Nurses and health care workers across the world are working under dire conditions that compromise their own health and jeopardize patient safety. Quebec is no exception,” explained Linda Silas, President of the 250,000-member-strong Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions (CFNU). […]
Read MoreSilas: If implemented correctly, the foundation laid today will save countless lives. February 29, 2024 (Ottawa, ON) – “Nurses and health care workers have long called for a national pharmacare program to ensure everyone in Canada has access to the medication they need. Today we celebrate a victory that has been years in the making,” […]
Read MoreSilas: With nurses working longer hours than ever before, we must proactively address nurse fatigue. January 11, 2024 (Ottawa, ON) – A new report from the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions (CFNU) sheds light on the dire impact excessively long working hours have on nurses and their patients. Released today, Safe Hours Save Lives reveals […]
Read MoreSilas: Nurses and patients need to see action that matches the urgency of this crisis. November 7, 2023 (OTTAWA, ON) – “Premiers can not lose sight of just how critically important tackling the nationwide nursing shortage is to bringing Canada out of this health care crisis,” warned Linda Silas, president of the Canadian Federation of […]
Read MoreSilas: To protect patient safety, we need to better retain nurses. October 19, 2023 (Ottawa, ON) – Amidst chronic staffing shortages, hospital inpatient units across Canada have seen a rise in the rate of unintentional harm to patients for the third year in a row, according to the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI). At […]
Read MoreSilas: Health ministers heard our message loud and clear – we must stop spending money on costly private staffing and invest in committed, permanent nurses. October 13, 2023 (Ottawa, ON) – Canada’s nurses unions are encouraged by governments’ collaborative commitments to bolster the health care workforce, following this week’s productive meetings in P.E.I. “Repairing our […]
Read MoreSilas: Growing reliance on private staffing agencies and excessive hours of work are failing patients and nurses across Canada. October 12, 2023 (CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I.) – Phasing out private nursing agencies and ensuring safe hours of work were the focus of today’s policy briefing between Canada’s union nurses and federal, provincial and territorial health ministers. “Relying […]
Read MoreSilas: Collaboration on retaining nurses is vital to all areas of care October 11, 2023 (CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I.) – As the country’s health ministers hold critical meetings around the future of our public health systems, Canada’s nurses are urging all levels of government to fix the nursing shortage and end the crisis in care. That was the message […]
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