RNAO pays tribute to the thousands of nurses and other health-care workers who are serving Ontarians over this Thanksgiving long weekend.

While many Canadians will celebrate with a Thanksgiving dinner, nurses and other health-care workers will continue to care for persons in hospitals, long-term care homes, their homes and on the streets of this province.

The majority of those not yet vaccinated are hesitant for a diversity of legitimate reasons. A small but influential minority of the unvaccinated are anti-vaxxers driven by ideology who produce and disseminate disinformation intended to obfuscate, confuse and create hesitation. They also lead the angry and dangerous mob actions against hospitals and schools that require the enactment of safe zones. The following is a July 15 article from Paula Larsson addressing the racist roots of the anti-vaxx movement.

RNAO, in collaboration with Healthcare Excellence Canada, are excited to launch the new online Leading Change Toolkit. The toolkit is designed for change agents and change teams whose goal is to create lasting improvement with the uptake and sustainability of knowledge, like best practice guidelines (BPG).

A Q&A with Former Associate Chief Justice Frank Marrocco, a recap of RNAO’s 96th Annual General Meeting, the impact of being an RNAO member by President Morgan Hoffarth, our CEO Dr. Doris Grinspun's reflections on the evolution of our profession during COVID-19, and a profile on Aaliyah Hoo Kim-Baker, an RN who’s bringing a voice to marginalized populations. These are only a few of the many captivating stories in the latest issue of RNJ.

Throughout September, RNAO focused most of its media presence on the following topics: Ontario’s new vaccine certificate system, condemning anti-vax protests, the federal election and the crisis facing the nursing profession.

The Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO) commends and fully supports Minister of Long-Term Care (LTC) Rod Phillips’s announcement on mandatory vaccination for all in-home staff, support workers, students and volunteers in LTC, effective Nov. 15. As RNAO has publicly stated many times, this is a necessary action that will further protect LTC residents and staff from COVID-19 infection caused by unvaccinated health-care workers.

On Sept. 29, 2021 the Federal Court dismissed an appeal by the federal government for a judicial review of landmark human rights tribunal decisions that ordered compensation and determined service eligibility for First Nation children and their families. Join us! Demand that the prime minister stop the federal government’s long- standing court battle with First Nation children and compensate them for the effects of inadequate and discriminatory funding.

At a time when long-term care (LTC) residents are still being infected and dying from COVID-19 because of unvaccinated health-care workers, the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario (RNAO) says the provincial government's announcement Friday should have been about mandatory vaccination for all health-care workers. Instead, it was about raising capacity limits for sporting events.

RNAO, in collaboration with Healthcare Excellence Canada, are excited to launch the new online Leading Change Toolkit. The toolkit is designed for change agents and change teams whose goal is to create lasting improvement with the uptake and sustainability of knowledge, like best practice guidelines (BPG).

Recent mob events at hospitals and schools represent the tip of the iceberg in terms of the threat to health represented by the growth of far-right extremism. As health providers and policymakers, we need to become aware of how the increasing organization, visibility and influence of far-right extremism and their ideas and organizations is a serious concern from a health perspective.