Ontario Nurses’ Association Urges Ontarians to Vote for Strong Public Health Care on Election Day

ONA President Cathryn Hoy joined NDP leader Andrea Horwath at a media conference to highlight the crisis in nursing and health care

TORONTO, May 30, 2022 – The Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA) is urging Ontarians to vote for strong public health care and measures to address the nursing crisis on the province’s June 2 general election day.

ONA President Cathryn Hoy, RN, joined Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath at a media conference in Toronto today to highlight their party’s strong platform commitments to stop the health workforce shortages and health-care privatization that have been rampant under Doug Ford’s government.

“Nurses are speaking out today to ask Ontarians to vote for better; to vote for an end to the nursing crisis and for high-quality public health care for everyone,” said Hoy. “I am here today with Andrea and the NDP because they have been listening carefully to nurses, and the platform they have put forward will, if implemented, help fix what is broken in our health-care system.”

Some of the measures that ONA is voicing support for include taking immediate action to address Ontario’s shortage of 30,000 RNs and rebuild the health workforce; repealing Bill 124, Ford’s wage-cut law, and restoring nurses’ rights; and phasing out profit from long-term care and home-care sectors.

In particular, the NDP’s commitment to creating new jobs for late-career and recently retired nurses will ensure that new nurses entering the system will have the support and mentorship they need, while experienced nurses can stay focused on providing high-quality care.

“To be blunt, the future of our public health care is on the line this election,” said Hoy. “Ford’s policies over the last four years have put our public health-care system on the brink – and this is hurting Ontarians every day. That is why nurses are urging every Ontarian to vote for a government that will end the nursing crisis and safeguard our public health-care system – so it is there for us when we need it.”

ONA is the union representing more than 68,000 nurses and health-care professionals, as well as 18,000 nursing student affiliates, providing care in hospitals, long-term care facilities, public health, the community, industry and clinics.

For more information: 

Sheree Bond (416) 986-8240 shereeb@ona.org

Katherine Russo 647-539-1925 katheriner@ona.org