RNAO has signed the open letter launched by the Global Climate & Health Alliance and the World Health Organization calling on heads of state for urgent climate action now! The 2021 United Nations climate negotiations in November (COP26) are a critical moment and opportunity to put the world on a path that protects people from catastrophic climate change. The health community around the world is coming together to send a message to national leaders and country delegations, calling for real action to address the climate crisis.

Recent extreme weather events are a harsh reminder that while we are close to getting one public health emergency under control, we have done far too little to address climate change, the public health emergency that threatens the livability of the planet. The following is a July 11 article by Pegeen Walsh and Kim Perrotta.

RNAO participates in the global movement of health organizations and workers who understand that climate change is the largest public health emergency the world has ever faced, and who are pushing politicians and governments to take emergency action at the upcoming COP26 conference in Glasgow. The following is a segment from an October 15 CBC News backgrounder article on COP26 by Tesa Arcilla.

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.

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.

This is a September 21 article by Josh Roose, a senior research fellow at Deakin University, Victoria, Australia. It focuses on how far right nationalists, anti-vaxxers, libertarians and conspiracy theorists have come together over COVID, and capitalised on the anger and uncertainty simmering in some sections of the community.

This is a September 19 article by Sibo Chen, an assistant professor at the School of Professional Communication, Ryerson University. It focuses on the worrisome convergence of the anti-vaccine movement and far-right political extremism.

RNAO sent a questionnaire to each of the major political parties running candidates for their input on RNAO’s 11 recommendations in our policy platform. We received responses from each of the four major parties: the Liberal Party of Canada, the Conservative Party of Canada, the New Democratic Party, and the Green Party of Canada. You can read the responses under each of the four areas of our platform. We invite you to go through each topic area so you can inform yourself.

Multiple issues impacting on health are being discussed in the federal campaign trail, and one of the most prominent has been gun control. RNAO has been concerned for many years about gun violence. The following article by R. Blake Brown, a professor of history at Saint Mary’s University, analyzes the commitments of the main federal parties on gun control.

RNAO issued today the following media release in response to the recent protests.