Silas: To fix the health care crisis, Canada’s leaders must listen to Canada’s frontline nurses
July 4, 2022 (VICTORIA, B.C.) – As premiers prepare to meet at the upcoming Council of the Federation, nurses are launching a campaign to deliver an urgent message from Canada’s frontline nurses: Our public health care system is on the brink of disaster. Governments must act now and address dire nursing shortages to make sure our cherished public health care system is there for today’s patients and future generations.
This new campaign from the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions (CFNU), Canada’s largest nurses’ organization, aims to engage the premiers and public around actions needed to fix the health crisis. It will include local and national newspaper ads, a billboard enroute to the premiers’ meetings, social media engagement and digital advertisements.
“Canada’s premiers are meeting at a critical moment for Canada’s health care system. Our public system teeters on the brink of disaster. If governments at all levels don’t act now, we risk system-wide collapse,” said Linda Silas, CFNU President. “Whether it’s on a billboard, in a newspaper or online, as the Council of the Federation gathers next week, we are going to make sure premiers hear the voices of nurses loud and clear.”
Silas will be at the Council of the Federation meetings, accompanied by regional nursing union leaders, ready to engage Canada’s premiers around solutions to the dire shortages and difficult working conditions facing nurses today.
“Our new campaign not only brings the stark reality facing Canada’s frontline nurses to the premiers, but we will also engage Canada’s leaders around concrete proposals to address staffing shortages, better support nurses, improve patient care and protect public health care,” concluded Silas. “It’s time for federal, provincial and territorial governments to listen to frontline nurses and work with us on urgent solutions. We have no time to waste.”
The Council of the Federation will meet July 11-12 in Victoria, British Columbia.
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The CFNU is Canada’s largest nurses’ organization, representing Canada’s frontline nurses in every sector of health care – from home care, LTC, community and acute care, including nursing students – and advocating on key health priorities and federal engagement in the future of public health care.
CONTACT:
Ben René, CFNU Communications, 613-406-5962, media@nursesunons.ca