Canada’s nurses unions urge feds to use Budget 2025 to lead country out of health care crisis

Silas: Patients’ well-being and access to care hinges on bold federal leadership and action

August 6, 2024 (Ottawa, ON) – Safe patient care is at the heart of working nurses’ recommendations to the federal government in the Canadian Federation of Nurses’ Unions’ (CFNU) pre-budget submission ahead of Budget 2025.

“Years of persistent staffing shortages have left our communities and our patients suffering, and left nurses bearing the crushing weight of overcapacity health care systems across the country. Staffing is a matter of safety. The extreme conditions nurses are working under are not safe for them, and it’s not safe for their patients,” said CFNU President Linda Silas. “Whether you’re a patient or a health care worker, everyone who touches the system can see the dire need for bold leadership in our health care systems across this country.”

­­­Silas emphasized that the CFNU has evidence-backed solutions to end the staffing crisis and highlighted the need for federal leadership on a pan-Canadian plan to implement solutions that would bolster public health care from coast to coast to coast.

In its pre-budget submission, the CFNU outlined key recommendations for Budget 2025 that would create the conditions for patient safety in all sectors of care:

• Implementing nurse-patient ratios, regulatory limits on consecutive work hours for nurses and a federal Patient Bill of Rights.
• Addressing the nursing shortage through $1 billion investment to implement the Nursing Retention Toolkit recommendations, including financial support for nursing students, mental health support for nurses and phasing out private nursing agencies.
• Establishing a universal, comprehensive and single-payer pharmacare program with adequate funding.

“The federal government has a critical role to play in setting the provinces and territories on the right path to create better conditions of care, where nurses and health professionals have the resources they need, and patients can access the quality of care they deserve,” said Silas. “No single province or territory can solve this crisis on their own. But with a bold vision, strong leadership and meaningful collaboration, together, we can make health care jobs the best jobs in our communities.”

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The CFNU is Canada’s largest nurses’ organization, representing frontline unionized nurses and nursing students in every sector of health care – from home care and LTC to community and acute care – and advocating on key priorities to strengthen public health care across the country.

For more information, please contact Adella Khan, media@nursesunions.ca, 613‑807‑2942.