RN Amanda Ottley is a registered nurse and RNAO member working in the field of disability management. She is one of the founders of the Save Toronto Carnival community group and in this article, she introduces us to an inspiring grassroots effort. Thank you deeply for your work, Amanda!

Given the devastating situation in intensive care in the province, the dire predictions from the Science Table, and the outcry from nurses, doctors and other health professionals, yesterday the Ontario government announced new measures. Tragically, as often has been the case, the government acted too-little and too-late. Instead of improving the situation, we deepened the pandemic and the suffering. This is catastrophe by design.

We receive every week messages regarding my blog, most of them being positive, thankful and heartwarming. This week was no different, except for a message that I share with permission, making me reflect on the many sides to an issue, and how sensitive we must always be. Please read, see my response, and reflect.  

Today we focus on a forgotten group, one that is vital to our food chain and one that has been late in receiving policy attention in government plans: migrant agricultural workers. We are tremendously grateful to Dr. Susana Caxaj, RN, PhD, assistant professor at the University of Western Ontario, and Oleksandra Budna, communications and member relations lead, Alliance for Healthier Communities, for the following article.