Welcome to our Sunday, October 24 report. This week we share: (1) RNAO’s deep disappointment with the Ontario government’s reopening plan; (2) misinformation as an urgent threat that prolongs the pandemic and puts people at risk; and (3) what we can do about the vaccine misinformation problem in social media. Scroll down for policy updates and action alerts, as well as RNAO’s upcoming webinars.

Bill 124, passed by the Ford government in 2019, caps compensation increases for a broad range of public sector workers, including nurses, at just one per cent. The average inflation rate in Ontario was 4.0 per cent for the past 12 months, so nurses were treated to a decrease in their real income of 3.0%. Pushing down substantially the compensation for nurses and other primarily female essential workers (i.e., police and firefighters excluded) during a pandemic is not only reckless policy – it is also insulting.

Welcome to our Sunday, October 17 report. The first item today is (1) a renewed call to #RepealBill124 and address the human resources crisis in nursing. The remaining of today’s report focuses on (2) a crucial moment for global public health – the November climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland; (3) climate change as the new public health emergency; and (4) a statement from health organizations around the world – urgent climate action is necessary to protect people’s health. Scroll down for policy updates and action alerts, as well as RNAO’s upcoming webinars.

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.

Welcome to our Sunday, October 10 report. Today we share: (1) Our best wishes for Thanksgiving; (2) a renewed urgent call to sign the Action Alert to our prime minister to stop the federal government’s court battle with First Nations children; (3) a media release calling for mandatory vaccination for all health-care and education workers and for safe zones to protect patients, students and workers; (4) an article on the inherent racism of the anti-vaxx movement; and (5) RNAO launches new, evidence-based online implementation toolkit to lead change in partnership with Healthcare Excellence Canada. Scroll down for policy updates and action alerts, as well as RNAO’s upcoming webinars.

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.

Welcome to our Sunday, October 3 report. Today we share: (1) RNAO celebrates the ruling on compensation for First Nation children and issues an action alert urging the federal government to stop fighting them in court; (2) RNAO commends the move to mandate vaccination for long-term care staff and asks for more; (3) the spring/summer issue of RNJ is here; (4) RNAO’s media report for September 2021; and (5) an invitation to join us this coming Tuesday – from anywhere in the world – for the launch of the Leading Change Toolkit which will revolutionize the way you lead change. In addition, scroll down for policy updates and action alerts, as well as RNAO’s upcoming webinars.