Joint letter from the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions, Canadian Medical Association and Canadian Nurses Association asks for urgent meeting around health care worker shortages
November 24, 2022 (Ottawa, ON) — Following the disappointing results of the recent Health Ministers’ Meeting in Vancouver, a group of Canada’s leading health care organizations is requesting an urgent meeting with Council of the Federation Chair, Premier Heather Stefanson.
In a joint letter to Premier Stefanson, the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions (CFNU), the Canadian Medical Association (CMA), and the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) urged Canada’s premiers to work collaboratively with the federal government on long-term solutions to address the dire health care staffing shortage and protect patient care.
“Healthcare workers and the Canadians we serve are concerned that, without immediate action and collaboration from our political leaders, the meaningful, long-term solutions to address the ongoing crisis across all 13 provincial and territorial health systems will not move forward,” the letter reads.
“Patient care is suffering while health care working conditions for nurses and other health workers deteriorates. It is absolutely critical that we put aside politicking and get down to productive discussions around concrete solutions to the health care staffing crisis,” said CFNU president Linda Silas. “Responding to this dire and growing crisis requires urgent action by all levels of government. Patients and health care workers deserve no less.”
CNA president Sylvain Brousseau emphasized immediate collaboration between health stakeholders and governments is needed to fix the health care crisis.
“Only with all levels of government working on a pan-Canadian action plan, alongside health care workers and other stakeholders, can we redefine health care across the country. Collaboration is the key to solving this crisis and ensuring patients have access to the care they need, when they need it,” added Brousseau.
The letter to Premier Stefanson from the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions, Canadian Medical Association and Canadian Nurses Association can be found here.
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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, to LTC, community and acute care, including nursing students – and advocating on key health priorities and federal engagement in the future of public health care.
For more information, please contact:
Adella Khan, media@nursesunions.ca, 613-807-2942