Ontario Nurses' Association Weekly Media Scan & Media Release Summary February 7 to 11, 2022 - Local 80
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Ontario Nurses’ Association
Weekly Media Scan & Media Release Summary
February 7 to 11, 2022
ONA coverage:
• ONA President Cathryn Hoy and Premier Doug Ford are scheduled to meet again in
the next week, though there is no official date set (The Canadian Press, February 4,
2022). During their meeting on Thursday, they discussed the repeal of Bill 124,
which the premier did not agree to but acknowledged more nurses need to be
retained.
• Prior to the rally set to take place in Toronto, ONA released a statement Thursday
night calling on “elected leaders and public safety officials to ensure that nurses,
health-care professionals, patients and their loved ones have safe access to all
hospitals on University Avenue and across Toronto this weekend, and every day”
(City News, February 4, 2022). City police plan to shut down some roads to ensure
unimpeded access for health care works and patients.
• After meeting with Premier Doug Ford on Thursday, ONA President Cathryn Hoy
said, “While I am deeply disappointed that the Premier did not commit to repealing
Bill 124, I am hopeful that our meeting next week will be productive. We do agree
with Premier Ford's position that Canada's federal health transfers should increase”
(TVO.org, February 4, 2022).
• ONA held a first meeting with Doug Ford on Thursday to discuss the current nursing
shortage. The union will hold another meeting this week (CKDR FM, February 4,
2022).
• ONA met face-to-face with Premier Doug Ford and Health Minister Christine Elliott to
discuss the nursing shortage, which ONA president Cathryn Hoy says meant a lot,
though he made no commitments to repealing Bill 124 (CBC Radio 1, February 4,
2022).
• Ontario Premier Doug Ford is expected to meet again next week with Cathryn Hoy,
President of ONA, to discuss plans to retain workers in the field (CHML AM,
February 4, 2022). She says yesterday's meeting touched on the controversial bill
that caps annual public sector wage increases at one percent.
• Minister of Health Christine Elliott and Premier Doug Ford are meeting with nurse
unions Unifor and ONA this week (QP Briefing, February 7, 2022). The unions are
seeking to have Bill 124 repealed. After meeting with Ford last Thursday, ONA
President Cathryn Hoy agreed with him that the Canada Health Transfer must
increase. However, ONA is still pushing for conditional funding to establish national
standards in long-term care. ONA will again meet with the premier this week.
• Last week, ONA met with the premier to call for the repeal of Bill 124, which Doug
Ford did not commit to (CityTV, February 7, 2022). Unifor, a union representing
1RPNs, met with health minister Christine Elliott today, also asking for the repeal of
Bill 124. The answer was still no, without any clear reason. Unifor will continue to
fight for the repeal of this bill.
• Dawn Armstrong, ONA Vice-President, says the union wasn’t consulted before
approximately 100 of its members at Health Sciences North were temporarily
reassigned (CBC News, February 8, 2022). Outpatient services have been reduced
to 20-per-cent capacity as staff have been moved to other parts of the hospital.
Armstrong says, “This is very unfortunate because we would have been able to
provide some solutions as to what would have had a minimal impact on patients and
healthcare staff. The redeployment has been a patchwork process at best.”
• Dawn Armstrong spoke with CBC Radio 1 to discuss the redeployment of RNs,
therapists and technicians at Health Sciences North – all members of ONA
(February 8, 2022). She says the redeployment is not going very well and that it is
unfortunate ONA was not consulted on these plans. “The redeployment has been a
patchwork approach at best, you know our nurses and our health-care professionals
do not know they're scheduled for more than two weeks. It's changed on a whim,
leaving them with no stability or quality of life,” she says. Armstrong says this
problem is not unique to Health Sciences North. COVID has only exacerbated it
staffing issues, and Armonstrong says that part of the solution is repealing Bill 124.
• Unifor has met with the provincial health minister to ask for the repeal of Bill 124
(CBC Radio 1, February 8, 2022). ONA met with the Premier to make the same
request last week.
• Rachel Muir, an Ottawa nurse who also heads the local Bargaining Unit of the
Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA), says the ongoing protest in Ottawa is “making a
difficult situation more difficult” (CBC News, February 10, 2022). On Jan. 16, Ottawa
set a new pandemic case high with 142 patients hospitalized with active COVID-19.
The convoy arrived less than two weeks after this record was set. "I'm stressed
going home. I'm stressed coming back from work. It's been awful. My hair's been
falling out," says Andrea Waddell, a nurse at The Ottawa Hospital who uses public
transit to commute.
• Rachel Muir, an Ottawa nurse who also heads the local Bargaining Unit of ONA,
spoke on CBC Radio 1 (Ottawa) to share her frustration with the truckers (February
10, 2022). “It's making a difficult situation even more difficult,” she told the host. Muir
pointed out the concern of how few of these protestors are wearing masks – which
could ultimately lead to more COVID-19 infections.
Nursing coverage:
• Linda Silas, President of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions (CFNU) has
written an opinion column in the Hamilton Spectator, highlighting the importance of
health-care workers (February 6, 2022). Silas writes that if we are going to retain
nurses, they need immediate support from the province. “We simply can’t afford to
continue planning in the dark when it comes to health care. It’s time to stop
pretending that a responsive health-care system will materialize out of thin air,
absent the data, tools and leadership needed to do the job” writes Silas.
2• According to a report, 55 per cent of nurses suffered from insomnia in the first six
months of the COVID-19 pandemic (Occupational Health & Safety Magazine,
February 4, 2022). The lack of sleep has had an impact on their mental health, as
sleep problems are interwoven with anxiety and depressive symptoms. Researchers
note the need for employers to address work stress and other factors that keep
frontline workers up at night, including through stress management training and
mental health-care referrals.
• On Saturday, a ‘Love is Better than Hate’ rally took place outside the Victoria
Hospital campus to show appreciation for health-care workers (980 CFPL, February
5, 2022). About 70 people attended the rally as a convoy entered the city, though
there were no disputes.
• The need for nurses has risen over the last year, according to data provided by
Workforce Windsor-Essex (CTV Windsor News, February 6, 2022). In Windsor-
Essex, the demand for registered nurses doubled, and in some cases tripled, month
over month last year. Windsor Regional’s Chief Nursing Executive, Karen Riddell,
says they are currently looking for strategies in the region for sustaining the
workforce.
• Ontarian nurses have gone from being considered heroes to facing harassment and
blame for pandemic-related issues (The Canadian Press, February 4, 2022). "The
people who work in our hospitals are not the people who make the policies around
vaccine mandates," says Dr. Katharine Smart, president of the Canadian Medical
Association. "They're the people who are still showing up and caring for Canadians."
Dr. Mark Woodcroft, an emergency physician, says, “Many of the people who might
be yelling at us end up needing us, and we treat them just like they're our own
brothers and sisters.”
• TVO spoke with three nurses to discuss the current nursing crisis and Ontario’s new
pathway for Internationally Educated Nurses (IENs) (February 2, 2022). Birgit
Umaigba, an RN working in the ICU, says that IENs are a part of the solution to
addressing the nursing shortage. However, nurses are quitting due to poor working
conditions. If these conditions do not improve, IENs will quit, too. Amina Silva, an
IEN originally from Brazil who now works in Ottawa, started the process to become a
Canadian RN in 2019, and only finished a week or two ago. She says it was “a long
journey and frustrating with a lot of going back and forth with the consul”. Another
IEN, Karla Ducusin from the Philippines, is licensed as an RPN and an RN but
cannot practice as she does not have permanent residency. This is because her
work permit is tied under her current work as a full-time caregiver. The RNAO is
working to help Ducusin become a Canadian citizen.
• “The whiteness of our profession is blinding,” RNAO President Doris Grinspun says,
noting that the lack of diversity is especially pronounced in leadership (Toronto Star,
February 8, 2022). Nurse practitioner Corsita Garroway has worked more than 30
years in the nursing profession and has seen anti-Black racism towards both
patients and nurses. Now as co-chair of the RNAO’s Black Nurses Task Force,
Garraway and a group of 17 Black nurses and students are hoping to bring change
3to the field in Ontario. The task force will release a report including 19 specific
recommendations for change in the industry Tuesday morning.
• A nurse practitioner who has worked through the SARS outbreak and COVID-19
says that Bill 124 needs to be repealed (SheDoesTheCity, February 7, 2022). The
lack of support during SARS made her want to quit at the time and she says that it is
nothing compared to what nurses are dealing with now. “Write your letters, speak
up, because when it comes to anything, the politicians have the power to do
something about this, and stop redirecting anger at the wrong people,” she urges.
• In a letter published in the Stratford Beacon-Herald, Tracy Bonvarlez from Chatham
praises and thanks long-term care staff (February 7, 2022). She wrote, “I feel
strongly that reforms are needed to our long-term care system, especially increased
government funding and better pay for workers”.
• Shannon Adams, a nurse who worked at Norfolk General Hospital for 18 years, has
died at age 43 from a rare Plasma Cell Leukemia (Hamilton Spectator, February 8,
2022). Even in her dying days, she was still a nurse. Two days before passing,
Shannon was in the hospital and helped another woman undergoing cancer
treatment clean up her colostomy bag that had burst. Because of COVID, Shannon
had to face many appointments alone but her husband was allowed to visit in her
final days as she couldn’t manage on her own. She passed away on Jan. 28 in her
husband’s arms at their home in Canfield.
• Katha Fortier, UNIFOR’s assistant national president responsible for health care,
says that “nurses are not okay” (CBC News, February 7, 2022). Fortier says
registered practical nurses (RPNs), who "have been bearing a heavy load during the
pandemic," are not getting paid enough for the work they do. The union is optimistic
following a meeting with Health Minister Christine Elliott on Monday, though Fortier
acknowledges that change doesn’t come easy.
• Nurses Jane Cornelius and Jane Sanders returned to Humber River Hospital for the
fourth time last month since each retired, in response to being called upon to
manage its COVID-19 vaccine program (Toronto Star, February 8, 2022). Both have
spent 42 years in the profession, and although they each have repeatedly retired,
and wish to stay that way, they continuously sacrifice retirement to help out health-
care workers and “make their life a little easier.”
COVID-19 coverage:
• As of today, Ontario long-term care residents can take trips if they’ve received at
least three doses of a COVID-19 vaccine and see more caregivers (February 7,
2022). As of Feb. 21, they will also be allowed general visits from individuals five
years and older who’ve had at least two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine. They will
also be allowed to go on social day trips regardless of vaccination status.
• At Health Sciences North, 100 staff have been redeployed to maintain critical and
acute care services during “the worst part of the pandemic” (CBC News, February 7,
2022). The Mental Health and Addictions Program is one of the 35 outpatient
services affected, with 15 staff moved elsewhere in the hospital. All clients who are
impacted have been contacted.
4• Dr. Thomas Piggott, Peterborough’s medical officer of health, has been facing
harassment from citizens (Peterborough Examiner, February 6, 2022). Though his
colleagues and community say he’s done a tremendous job since taking office Dec.
1, he has been confronted by COVID-19 denialists at his door and dealt with
protests outside his property. Piggott, 32, is a respected physician and public health
leader who has travelled the world fighting epidemics, from treating Ebola in Uganda
to working on the Public Health Agency of Canada’s H1N1 response. “When you
have a progressive, assertive, intelligent voice, you’re always a target for abuse,”
says Peterborough Mayor Diane Therrien. “People don’t know where to direct their
frustration, so they take it out on strong leaders asserting things they don’t
understand or agree with.”
• As provinces move towards easing COVID-19 restrictions, it is unclear what living
with the virus means exactly – and how it will work (CBC News, February 5, 2022).
On Friday, Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam said Canada needs to find a
more "sustainable" way to deal with the pandemic and all existing public health
policies, including provincial vaccine passports, need to be "re-examined" in the
coming weeks. Ontario began easing public health restrictions at the end of January,
with a plan to lift most remaining measures by mid-March, as the rate of COVID-19
hospitalizations remained on a downward trend despite the daily death toll
continuing to rise.
• The BA.2 subvariant of Omicron has been detected in Waterloo region through the
monitoring of the University of Waterloo’s wastewater (CBC News, February 7,
2022). The BA.2 subvariant appears to be even more transmissible than the original
Omicron mutation of COVID-19, says Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang, medical officer of health for
the Region of Waterloo, but there's no evidence that it is a more severe mutation.
• An Ontario truck driver is stuck in a U.S. hospital after having a stroke (CTV News
Toronto, February 3, 2022). Ali Ahmed was turned away after his family arranged a
$22,500 private flight with the Federal Air Ambulance to bring him to Etobicoke
General Hospital on Friday, as the hospital couldn’t confirm an available bed.
"Unless they have doctors ready and waiting for him, ambulance ready and waiting
for him, a room ready and waiting for him, they won't fly," Ahmed's friend, Ibrahim
Bihi, told CTV News Toronto Thursday. Now stuck in Arkansas, he and his family
are being charged $1,000 per day for an ICU bed.
• City News (February 6, 2022) reports that an open letter has been written for health-
care workers to sign vowing to not let disinformation, violence and threats undermine
science and patient care. The letter reads: “We, the undersigned physicians, nurses,
healthcare workers, and public health scholars across the country, will NOT hide out
of fear of violence from hate-fueled convoys.
• The Canadian Press (February 4, 2022) reports that Women’s College Hospital and
Mount Sinai Hospital cancelled a small number of appointments due to the protests
against COVID-19. Women’s College Hospital said its urgent care clinic would not
offer in-person appointments Saturday — though it opened an additional clinic on
Friday — and Mount Sinai said it recommended its ambulatory clinics review
appointments and reschedule non-urgent care.
5• The Globe and Mail (February 6, 2022) reports that some Ottawa seniors are afraid
to leave their homes alone, so residents are accompanying them for neighbourhood
walks. Others need help with grocery deliveries, and at least one health-care worker
asked for rides to the hospital because he no longer feels safe travelling alone.
People in the city are dealing with the emotional and mental toll of a protest that has
occupied downtown Ottawa over the past week as trucks blare their horns at all
hours, streets are blocked by large vehicles, and some report physical and verbal
abuse from protesters. Experts worry that the stress could have long-lasting effects
on the health of residents who have also been navigating life during a pandemic. “I
don’t think, as a resident, that one can look at one’s environment in the same way
again. That when there are other protests, this will be a trigger,” says Ivy Bourgeault,
professor in the school of sociological and anthropological studies at the University
of Ottawa.
• Chidi Oguamanam, a professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Ottawa and
a member of the Centre for Health Law Policy & Ethics, wrote in an opinion column
in The Globe and Mail that COVID-19 has disrupted our social and economic order
(February 7, 2022). In the column, Oguamanam says, “One of the unravelling
consequences of the historic changes wrought by the pandemic is the burden being
shouldered unevenly by women and racialized people.” It is urgent that permanent
policy changes be made to protect front-line workers.
• It’s clear that COVID-19 is here to stay, but we need to shift carefully from public
health edicts to guidance and recommendations (The Globe and Mail, February 7,
2022). Andre Picard writes in his column that, “No one wants restrictions, but the
more impatient we are, the more likely we will have to wait for the pandemic to end.”
• Niagara Health has reported five more deaths due to COVID-19, although the
number of patients in hospital with the virus has been steadily declining (The St.
Catharines Standard, February 7, 2022). Unvaccinated people continue to make up
a disproportionate number of COVID-19 patients in hospital.
• Dave Mitchell was an unvaccinated Ontario trucker who died at age 70 in October
after testing positive for COVID-19 (CBC News, February 8, 2022). His mother,
Margaret Makins, says he had no major health issues before contracting the virus.
She wants truckers protesting in major Canadian cities to know her son’s story so
they can reconsider their actions against health restrictions.
• For the last month, the former Kiwanis Daycare Centre in Cambridge has been
quietly sheltering homeless people who are COVID-19-positive or symptomatic
(CBC News, February 9, 2022). Anne Tinker, the interim executive director with the
Cambridge Shelter Organization, says “it's an isolation site, not a shelter.” Those
who stay at the location are driven from the shelter they are staying at to the centre;
when they finish isolating, they return to their shelter.
• Emerging research shows that people infected with the Omicron variant of COVID-
19 are less likely to die or experience severe outcomes compared to those infected
with the Delta variant (The Globe and Mail, February 8, 2022). However, due to its
hyper-transmissibility, Omicron has led to higher daily death numbers and a record
number of hospitalizations.
6• Hospitals across Ontario are preparing to resume non-urgent surgeries, even as
Hamilton “continues to be a relative hot spot” (CBC News, February 8, 2022).
According to the heads of Hamilton Health Sciences and St. Joseph’s Healthcare
Hamilton, the region is still in a resource crunch as hospitals are overcapacity and
patients are being transferred elsewhere.
• The Ontario government will distribute free COVID-19 rapid antigen tests at grocery
stores, pharmacies and other settings (The Canadian Press, February 8, 2022).
Health Minister Christine Elliott will announce more details on Wednesday.
• Ute Lehrer, a professor at York University, is warning those involved in the trucker
protest to get vaccinated, noting that her mother died of COVID-19 (Toronto Star,
February 9, 2022). Lehrer’s mother was a pathologist, but despite her medical
background, got sucked into conspiracy theories on social media. Lehrer believes
her mother was “brainwashed over the years” and would have participated in the
convoy. She agrees that arguments and facts only go so far, and these types of
conversations are best approached with “love and care for these people.”
• An 83-year-old Grimsby man, dying of cancer, wanted to spend his last days at
home with his wife and dog, but because of a shortage of home-care staff, he was
sent to Juravinski Hospital instead (Hamilton Spectator, February 10, 2022). His
widow doesn’t blame the hospital or health-care workers, and says she just wishes
people would get vaccinated. “It’s not fair,” she says. “Nobody is there to look after
these people that are sick and dying.”
• On Wednesday, Hamilton reported its youngest pandemic fatality as a patient in
their 20s died of COVID-19 (Hamilton Spectator, February 9, 2022). The vaccination
status and medical history of the individual is unknown.
• St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton has reopened at full-day service at its urgent care
centre now that fewer staff are self-isolating due to COVID-19 (CBC News, February
9, 2022). Hamilton Health Services’ urgent care clinic remains closed.
• Ontario has still not received 17.93 million of the 54.3 million rapid tests promised to
the province by the federal government (Toronto Star, February 9, 2022). According
to a federal official, 45 million tests have been delivered to Ontario as of Sunday, but
this leaves 10 million tests unaccounted for. The same official says there have been
logistical challenges at warehouses in delivering the tests. Trucks are being turned
away as there are often no available docking stations, and many shipments were
mistakenly tagged as provincial deliveries instead of federal.
• Dr. Kieran Moore is set to hold a pandemic briefing today (The Canadian Press,
February 10, 2022). The COVID-19 news conference comes a day after Christine
Elliott said Ontario won't follow the lead of other provinces that have already begun
lifting proof-of-vaccination rules and intend to end masking rules soon.
• Scientists are concerned about the potential spread of COVID-19 from humans to
animals (CBC News, February 10, 2022). If the virus circulates widely enough
through another species, there’s a risk that animals could become a source for new
variants and transmission back to humans. Scott Weese, an infectious disease
veterinarian and a professor at the University of Guelph's Ontario Veterinary
College, advises that if someone has COVID-19, they should not only limit contact
7with humans, but animals as well. “If your cat is your support mechanism, know the
risk to the cat is fairly low, so you don't lock the cat in the bathroom because you've
got COVID. But the more we can stay away, the better,” he says.
• Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Kieran Moore, hinted at a press conference
Thursday that the timeline for further reopening could be sped up, but that we’ll likely
keep our masks on a bit longer (Toronto Star, February 11, 2022). Raywat
Deonandan, an epidemiologist and University of Ottawa professor, says a well-fitting
mask, particularly an N95 or the equivalent, is “highly effective at curtailing
transmission.” If you put one on, “you don’t need to worry about the yahoos,” he
added. Other experts also weigh in on what’s safe now that individuals are
apparently going to have to make their own choices.
• At a press conference on Thursday, Dr. Kieran Moore said the government will likely
review timelines for loosening COVID-19 restrictions, given the “remarkable
improvement” in the situation (Toronto Star, February 10, 2022). Moore says that,
“given how well Ontario has done in the Omicron wave, how well our health system
is recovering, I would assume government wants and will review timelines as well as
all public health measures, including when we remove proof of vaccination, when we
remove masking in certain venues.”
• Researchers at McMaster University have confirmed two of its newly developed
vaccines against COVID-19, delivered orally rather than through injection, can
provide long-lasting protection against the virus and its variants (Hamilton Spectator,
February 9, 2022). The McMaster vaccine targets different proteins, which
researchers believe offers more pre-emptive protection against future pandemics.
“The vaccine delivered into the lungs stimulated a unique form of immunity known as
trained innate immunity, which is able to provide very broad protection against many
lung pathogens besides (COVID),” says Zhou Xing, one of the lead researchers and
a professor with the McMaster Immunology Research Centre.
• At a news conference on Thursday, Dr. Kieran Moore said he will be reviewing all
public health measures and making recommendations to government about them as
early as next week (The Canadian Press, February 10, 2022). This comes as we
have passed the peak of Omicron, according to Ontario’s top doctor.
• Dr. Barry Yates, York Region’s Medical Officer of Health, says frustration shouldn’t
get in the way of “common-sense measures” that have been “critical to re-opening”
(The Auroran, February 10, 2022). “It is important not to confuse frustration with
some measures that have impacted businesses and many of the things we enjoy
with the common-sense measures, such as masking and vaccination, which have
saved our society and our economy, and continue to be critical to our ability to re-
open,” says Dr. Pakes.
Labour coverage:
• In a report in the Globe and Mail (February 7, 2022), experts weigh in on the fact
that the majority of Canadians are now suffering from career burnout. A recent
survey found 84 per cent of workers at Canadian organizations with 100 or more
employees are feeling this way, with 34 per cent of those workers reporting high or
8extreme levels. It also found one in five employees were actively looking for a new
job – but experts say quitting is not necessarily the cure for career burnout. The
three main factors in burnout are the strain of the ongoing pandemic, increased
workload and the round-the-clock nature of the modern workplace.
• The Globe and Mail (February 7, 2022) also reports on nurse Wendy Lafontaine,
who paused her nursing job last March to take a short-term medical leave after
exhausting all of her company’s mental-health options through her employer’s
benefit assistance program. Lafontaine, 56, suffers from post-traumatic stress
disorder after being assaulted by a patient in 2012. Since the onset of COVID-19,
she says her mental health began to deteriorate further as hospital staff were forced
to work in conditions she did not deem safe, including a shortage of personal
protective equipment. The report notes that she is not alone in her frustrations when
it comes to the limitations of mental-health benefits. The pandemic has increased
the number of Canadians suffering from a mental-health illness, and, in turn, the
total of mental-health claims being submitted to insurers, which climbed to more than
$340-million in 2020, up 24 per cent since 2019, according to the Canadian Life and
Health Insurance Association. Despite growing demand for help, only 19 per cent of
Canadian companies and organizations increased their maximum coverage limit for
mental-health benefits in 2021, according to research by Benefits Canada, a
publication that covers both employee health and pension benefits.
• According to 2022 city of Toronto budget numbers, WSIB costs, which were less
than $16 million in 2010, are expected to hit $45 million this year (Toronto Star,
February 8, 2022). This increase is mostly due to provincial legistlation around
PTSD claims for first responders, cancer claims for firefighters and COVID-19-
related claims.
• Demolition has begun on the century-old Finnish Labour Temple in Thunder Bay.
The landmark site was destroyed by a fire on December 22, 2021 (CBC News,
February 9, 2022).
• Although the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union and Uber have
signed a deal, drivers are still left with unanswered questions as they were left out of
the decision-making process (Toronto Star, February 10, 2022). “It’s a bad look for a
union to enter into a secret top-down agreement with a company for worker
representation rights without disclosing the terms of the agreement to the very
workers affected,” says David Doorey, associate professor of work law at York
University. He notes that Uber has entered “a side agreement” with UFCW, which
could be construed as picking sides in violation of existing labour laws. He adds that
some form of representation by a union is better than nothing in theory, but the
benefits may be offset if the union collaborates with Uber to advocate for “a legal
model that many believe will ultimately leave platform workers trapped in precarity.”
Industry coverage:
• Dr. Naveed Mohammad, the head of the William Osler Health System, has left his
position after less than two years on the job (CBC News, February 8, 2022).
Effective immediately, he will no longer act as the president and CEO.
9• In an opinion column, Jennifer Brown reminds the Ontario government that each
long-term-care bed that they have added to the province represents a living,
breathing person (Toronto Star, February 11, 2022). “We all deserve more than
being regarded and referred to as ‘beds,’” she writes. As someone who lives in a
long-term-care home, Brown asks visiting government officials to quit hiding behind
their clipboards and engage with residents. Emotional survival should be considered,
not just physical. She asks: “Talk to me. Not to another ‘stakeholder.’ To me. I
promise not to bite.”
• According to Health Minister Christine Elliott, non-urgent surgeries and procedures
will resume under a planned phased approach across Ontario (City News, February
10, 2022). She confirms that in schools, all extracurricular activities will be able to
resume, effective immediately, though masks will still be required.
• Canadian hospitals and laboratories say the country is facing a shortage of tubes
necessary to conduct blood tests (The Globe and Mail, February 11, 2022). If the
supply chain disruption worsens or continues for an extended period, it could result
in treatment delays and challenges to providing patient care. It is unclear why the
blood collection tubes are in short supply, but experts say it is likely due to a
combination of factors, including increased demand for tests and global supply chain
disruptions.
• The Canadian Standards Association (CSA Group) released a draft for public
consultation Friday outlining proposed national long-term-care standards (Toronto
Star, February 11, 2022). The CSA Group says the rules are written with residents in
mind. The draft report includes roughly 20 rules for sanitary hand practices, stating
such as “the most important procedure for preventing (health-care-associated
infections) in residents and staff.”
• After COVID-19 has exposed serious weaknesses in the system, the CSA Group is
calling for profound changes to the way Canada’s long-term care facilities are run
(CBC News, February 11, 2022). Its draft includes 338 recommendations for new
long-term care standards. This list includes single rooms with private bathrooms,
dedicated hand-hygiene sinks and better contingency plans for staffing shortages
when “catastrophic” events occur.
• In Windsor-Essex, vaccination rates for children ages five to 11 are at 40 per cent,
well below the provincial goal of 70 per cent (CBC News, February 10, 2022). During
Thursday's Windsor-Essex County Health Unit media briefing, two guests were
brought in to reinforce public health messaging on the importance of vaccinating
kids. "As a mother and a parent, I definitely understand that this decision can weigh
heavily on each one of us, but the science and the data, as we've spoken about,
show this vaccine is safe and serious side effects are very rare," says Dr. Andrea
Steen, chief of staff at Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare. Sweden, however, does not
recommend the vaccine for children in this age group, noting the benefits do not
outweigh the risks.
• Paula Boutis, Norfolk County's former top lawyer, is suing the county for more than
half a million dollars (CBC News, February 10, 2022). In her statement of claim, she
alleges a toxic work environment, says her budget was inflated by mysterious credit
10card payments, and alleges the mayor humiliated her through the local media and
Facebook. Boutis is also seeking $200,000 in damages from Mayor Kristal Chopp,
and another $200,000 from former Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Jason
Burgess. None of the allegations have been tested in court.
• Hamilton police are searching for Minho Lee, a 39-year-old psychiatric patient who
fled St. Joseph’s West 5th hospital Wednesday (Hamilton Spectator, February 10,
2022). Police warn that without his medication, Lee is “a greater risk to the public.”
Lee is described as a 39-year-old Asian man, five-foot-11 and 140 pounds, with a
thin build and brown eyes. If spotted, police ask members of the public not to
approach the patient, but to call 911.
Political coverage:
• CBC News (February 4, 2022) reports that crowdfunding platform GoFundMe says it
will stop payments to the organizers of Freedom Convoy 2022 and refund donors
directly because the protest violates its rules on violence and harassment. The
company announced its decision in a blog post on Friday evening, just two days
after it froze disbursements of the fund. "We now have evidence from law
enforcement that the previously peaceful demonstration has become an occupation,
with police reports of violence and other unlawful activity," says a statement. The
company said the protest violates a rule in its terms of service that prohibits the
promotion of violence and harassment. The fundraising page for the convoy has
been deleted from GoFundMe's website. Participants in the demonstration have
displayed symbols of hate, including the Confederate flag and swastikas, while
protesting. Truckers parked in downtown Ottawa have also made residents
miserable by blaring their horns at all hours. More than 120,000 donors contributed
nearly $10.1 million to the fund. A CBC News analysis found that about one-third of
donors were anonymous or used aliases and that many of the donations were made
from outside Canada.
• The province’s New Democrats have affirmed Andrea Horwath’s leadership (The
Canadian Press, February 6, 2022). More than 85 per cent of delegates to the
Ontario NDP convention gave the long-time leader the green light ahead of June's
provincial election.
• In an opinion column in QP Briefing (February 4, 2022), Doug Milloy asks how big a
role anger will play in the 2022 provincial election. “As a candidate you have lots of
tools in your toolkit to try to persuade people to vote for you. You can defend your
record, explain your platform, or criticize your opponent,” he writes. “Anger is
everywhere these days. All of us are angry at COVID. We are angry at the
lockdowns and disrupted plans. We are angry at contradictory rules that appear to
change every day and the fact that many of our public officials seem to be making it
up as they go along.” It is, of course, too soon to tell what role anger will play.
• An opinion editorial (Toronto Star, February 6, 2022) urges Premier Doug Ford to
release his mandate letters. Mandate letters traditionally set out what the captain
expects from the most trusted of his crew. The Ford government has now lost its
11appeal to keep the mandate letters under wraps – a battle it’s been waging for
almost four years. The province was ordered to disclose the letters by Ontario’s
former information and privacy commissioner. Then it lost a judicial review of that
decision in Divisional Court. Experts say the fight is a waste of money and a denial
of the sort of transparency necessary in a democracy worthy of the name. The
government may still appeal all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada.
• Michael Coren writes in an opinion column that the far-right is co-opting the Christian
faith, most recently in relation to the Freedom Convoy (The Globe and Mail,
February 7, 2022). Coren believes those excusing their terrible behaviour under the
guise of God are really battling fear of change.
• Mark Carney, an Ottawa resident and former governor of the Bank of Canada and
the Bank of England, writes in a guest column in The Globe and Mail about the
‘Freedom Convoy’ (February 8, 2022). Carney believes that anyone sending money
at this time to the convoy should be in no doubt that they are funding sedition. He
mentions that foreign funders interfered with our domestic affairs, and Canadian
authorities should take every step within the law to identify and thoroughly punish
them.
• Ontario Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca has called on Solicitor General Sylvia Jones
to explain a massive discrepancy in the number of OPP officers deployed to Ottawa
or “resign immediately” (CityNews, February 7, 2022). The Ottawa police reported
they received 100 OPP officers to assist with the Ottawa demonstrations, while the
Solicitor General’s office said 135-200 officers were deployed per day. “If the
province has only provided 100 OPP officers to assist, Sylvia Jones must come
clean and explain why she deceived the people of Ottawa and pretended to have
their backs,” Del Duca said Monday. “Without an explanation, the only answer is that
she must resign immediately.”
• Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino says an “angry crowd” should not be
allowed to dictate policies to fight COVID-19 (The Canadian Press, February 7,
2022). He says protestors have “crossed the line of acceptable conduct” during a
federal update on the ongoing events. Also at the briefing, Emergency Preparedness
Minister Bill Blair said it is not the role of any government to direct law-enforcement
operations. He announced that a trilateral table of federal, provincial and municipal
partners would help oversee the response.
• The Financial Accountability Office of Ontario is set to release a report today
assessing the province’s economic outlook for the next year (The Canadian Press,
February 8, 2022). The report will cover areas including budget balance, debt
measures, revenues and program spending.
• In a guest column in The Globe and Mail, Andrew Cohen compares the Freedom
Convoy in Ottawa to the October Crisis and calls for Justin Trudeau to “be bold”
(February 9, 2022). He writes, “This is no longer about vaccine mandates, the faux
right of dissent and woolly-minded expressions of flag-draped freedom. It’s about
democracy, the integrity of the state, the preservation of order, and freedom from
this noisy caravan of anarchy, prejudice and harassment.” Cohen calls on Justin
Trudeau to be as bold as his father was during the October crisis.
12• Ottawa residents are fleeing the downtown area as the disruptive truckers’ protest
drags on (CBC News, February 8, 2022). Confederate flags, sexist and homophobic
slurs, and rampant antisemitism have left many living in fear and intimidation. They
feel abandoned by their government and the police. Many of the people who have
left said they recognized they were privileged to have a quieter place to go.
• A opinion piece says that in view of the so-called Freedom Convoy, Canadian
leaders must figure out how to respond to the deep disagreement some Canadians
have with the vaccine mandate (CBC News, February 8, 2022). The big question is
whether the convoy's anger and anti-democratic spirit will be allowed to become
entrenched in Canadian politics.
• Federal cabinet ministers are calling out Ottawa protestors for their extreme
statements and actions (The Canadian Press, February 8, 2022). During a news
conference, Minister Marco Mendicino said, “Most Canadians understand that there
is a difference between being tired and fatigued with the pandemic, and then
crossing into some other universe in which you're trying to set up a parallel
structure.” Similarly, Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair said that broader
frustration is not the same as the “threats of violence, the intimidation, the symbols
of hatred and intolerance that have been on display, even quite frankly some of the
delusional pontifications of people who think that they are perhaps more fit to take
over the government.”
• Chairman and CEO Alain Bedard of TFI International Inc., Canada’s largest trucking
conglomerate, says vaccination “is not an issue at all” (The Canadian Press,
February 8, 2022). He says that in January, the biggest issue for the industry was
truck drivers in the U.S. sick with COVID, particularly at TForce Freight – previously
known as UPS Freight.
• The Financial Accountability Office (FAO) released their Budget Outlook Update on
Tuesday, revealing that although Ontario’s budget is larger, Queen’s Park is cutting
spending on public services anyway (Monitoring.ca, February 8, 2022). The FAO
estimates that the government will spend $1.4 billion less than needed to pay for
current government programs in 2021-22, $3.5 billion too little in 2022-23, and $6.4
billion too little in 2023-24. Health care will be hit the hardest.
• In an opinion column in the Toronto Star, Heidi Tworek writes that Canadian
politicians were warned in 2019 about extremist fundraising online (February 8,
2022). She says that if more attention was paid to hate-fueled, crowdsourced
fundraising, maybe the ‘Freedom Convoy’ protestors couldn’t have stayed in Ottawa
so long. “Policy-makers sometimes forget that they can use existing structures and
mechanisms to address newer issues,” she notes.
• As the pandemic drags on, Canadians are less trusting of governments and
politicians (The Canadian Press, February 9, 2022). In the early days of COVID, 40
per cent of Canadians surveyed by Proof Strategies said they trusted governments
or politicians. This figure has now dropped to 22 per cent. Nationally, one in three
people surveyed said they trust the prime minister and almost that many said they
trusted their provincial premier. In the early part of the pandemic, 43 per cent trusted
the prime minister and 44 per cent said they trusted their premier.
13• The group calling itself Police on Guard, made up of more than 150 mostly retired
police officers and over 50 former Canadian Forces soldiers, says it has “boots on
the ground” at the convoy in Ottawa – not to protect, but to protest (CBC News,
February 9, 2022). Because of their military, police or survivalist training, they are
using these skills to keep people fed, working and protesting. Experts are worried
the occupation will end in violence, as the Freedom Convoy continues to receive
donations towards their goal of $16 million US.
• As the June election approaches, Doug Ford’s plan to scrap licence plate stickers is
considered “bald-faced pandering” by the Star Editorial Board (Toronto Star,
February 9, 2022). The gimmick would only save Ontarians with passenger vehicles
$120 annually and is scheduled to be introduced through legislation and put in place
this spring – before the election. New Democrat Jennifer French says the premier
should be focused on addressing larger issues such as housing, hydro and child-
care costs.
• The NDP is calling on the U.S. ambassador to testify before the House of Commons
foreign affairs committee, saying American funding of the nearly two-week-long anti-
vaccine mandate protest in Ottawa is an attack on Canada's democracy (The
Canadian Press, February 10, 2022). The demonstration has received more than
$10 million in donations, a significant portion of which came from U.S. donors. The
Commons committee meets today and would need unanimous consent of all parties
to issue an invitation to Ambassador David Cohen.
• Ottawa police issued a warning to protestors that if they do not clear out, they will
face the prospect of arrest (Toronto Star, February 9, 2022). Referencing the crime
called “mischief to property,” the message says if the demonstrators don’t stop
blocking city streets they could be arrested, charged, and have their vehicles seized
and possibly forfeited. It also said those charged or convicted for participating in the
demonstration may be blocked from crossing the Canada-U.S. border. In response,
convoy organizer Chris Barber threatened to “replace every driver arrested with
three new drivers.” At the same time, the federal government says it is not prepared
to invoke emergency powers to take the reins of the crisis, though it has dragged on
for two weeks now.
• In an opinion column, Linda McQuaig writes that the convoy still occupying
downtown Ottawa is a result of “abject failure by the Ottawa police” (Toronto Star,
February 9, 2022). She notes that she has been a part of much larger
demonstrations that received only a fraction of media attention. McQuaig believes
this is in part due to the “freedom” convoy being mainly comprised of obnoxious,
right-wing men in big trucks.
• In response to several social media posts, Toronto police announced on Wednesday
they are closing off a section of the downtown core in advance of the possible arrival
of the trucker convoy (Toronto Star, February 9, 2022). Effective immediately, police
have closed Queen’s Park Circle between College and Bloor streets. When asked if
trucks were really leaving from Ottawa to head to Toronto, Chris Barber, an
organizer associated with the Freedom Convoy wrote, “No. It’s a game … Cops
14messed with us. We just play back.” He also said the organizers plan to stay in
Ottawa until all pandemic health restrictions are lifted.
• The Ontario Superior Court of Justice has granted a request from the provincial
government to freeze access to funds raised for the Freedom Convoy via the online
fundraising platform GiveSendGo (CBC News, February 10, 2022). A statement
from Premier Doug Ford's office on Thursday recounts that Attorney General Doug
Downey brought the application for the order, under Section 490.8 of the Criminal
Code, to prohibit anyone from distributing donations made through the website's
"Freedom Convoy 2022" and "Adopt-a-Trucker" campaign pages. This fundraiser
was set up after the disbursements of funds through the initial campaign on
GoFundMe was frozen late last week. Through GiveSendGo, the truckers have so
far raised $8.2 million US, while the GoFundMe campaign received more than $10
million.
• Representatives of the Ontario government have declined a third invitation to meet
with federal, Ottawa governments to discuss the ongoing anti-vaccine mandate
protests (CBC News, February 10, 2022). A provincial source, who was not
authorized to speak publicly, told CBC that Ontario Premier Doug Ford does not
think trilateral talks between the federal, provincial and Ottawa municipal
governments are necessary since all three levels of government have kept in touch
since the protests started.
• Interim Conservative Leader Candice Bergen has issued a call for protestors in
Ottawa to pack up and go home (Toronto Star, February 10, 2022). However, she
has pledged her party will take up their cause to end COVID-19 restrictions and
vaccine mandates. “To the protesters here in Ottawa. You came bringing a
message. That message has been heard. Conservatives have heard you and we will
stand up for you and all Canadians who want to get back to normal life. We will not
stop until the mandates have ended,” Bergen said. “Today though, I am asking you
to take down the blockades. Protest peacefully and legally, but it’s time to remove
the barricades and the trucks for the sake of the economy and because it’s the right
thing to do.”
• The City of Windsor and an automotive industry group have sought an injunction to
end what they call an “illegal occupation” at the foot of the Ambassador Bridge (The
Canadian Press, February 10, 2022). The demonstration has largely shut down one
of Canada’s busiest border crossings, impacting the economy.
• In an opinion column, Matt Gurney wonders where all our leaders have gone amidst
multiple crises (TVO.org, February 10, 2022). Gurney notes the major protest in
Ottawa, the blockade at The Ambassador Bridge in Windsor and the shutdown of
two other U.S-Canada border crossings, have left leaders overwhelmed and
confused, much like the beginning of the pandemic. He writes directly to leaders
that, “You are all failing this latest challenge. Avoiding the meetings and shunting
your calls right to voicemail isn’t politically savvy, guys. It’s just gutless.”
• At an annual general meeting, Doug Ford told C.A.R.P. that his government is
committed to “revamping the whole long-term care system” and they would “spare
no penny” to make it happen (Zoomer Magazine, February 10, 2022). As his
15government wears the burden of all the tragic long-term care deaths, the premier
says he plans to avoid a repeat of this failure through adding 30,000 new long-term
care beds, hiring 27,000 more nurses and personal support workers (PSWs) and
providing four hours of care daily for each resident.
• Paul Alexander, a former Trump administration official, has been participating in the
protests in Ottawa for several days in what he describes as a personal mission (CBC
News, February 10, 2022). Alexander is a Canadian former part-time faculty
member at McMaster University in Hamilton who lives in the U.S. and had a
contentious stint as science adviser to former president Donald Trump earlier in the
pandemic. He is hoping to organize a similar convoy across the United States. He
says he wants policy-makers in jail and that he will participate in any event he can to
oppose such policies, on both sides of the border.
1617
Ontario Nurses’ Association Secures Retention Bonus For All Front-
Line Nurses, Other Measures to Address Nursing Crisis
TORONTO, Ont., February 11, 2022 – Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA) President Cathryn
Hoy, RN has met with Premier Doug Ford for a second time and has negotiated a good-faith
retention bonus for all front-line nurses in publicly funded facilities.
“While the Premier has not agreed to repeal Bill 124 – yet – we have negotiated concrete
commitments to implement several measures to fix Ontario’s serious nursing shortage,” says Hoy.
The government will resurrect the Late-Career Nursing Initiative, the New Graduate program, and
will work with the Ontario Hospital Association to ensure exhausted nurses can take vacation.
While the Premier has not agreed to repeal Bill 124 at this time, it is not off the table for further
discussion and ONA will press the Premier on this issue.”
Hoy says, “We will continue to meet with the government and we are pleased with the commitment
today to collaborate with ONA on ongoing programs to retain nurses.”
Hoy notes that, “The retention bonus negotiated today is for a lump-sum, $5,000 payment and
the Premier indicated that this will go to the Treasury Board as early as next week for approval
and further details on implementation.”
There is further consultation planned, including initial conversations about fast-tracking RPN-to-
RN bridging programs and ensuring a speedier process for IENs to enter the workforce. ONA
also raised the need for more full-time nursing positions – with a target of 70% full-time – and the
Premier did not disagree.
ONA is the union representing more than 68,000 registered nurses and health-care professionals,
as well as more than 18,000 nursing student affiliates, providing care in hospitals, long-term care
facilities, public health, the community, clinics and industry.
-30-
18Global Nurses United
Media Clips
Australia
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/feb/05/aged-care-providers-beg-
scott-morrison-to-send-in-military-wed-welcome-any-help
Headline: Aged care providers beg Scott Morrison to send in military – ‘We’d welcome
any help’
.....
Australia
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-03/aged-care-workers-crisis-level-exhaustion-
covid19-pandemic/100801108
Headline: Aged care workers are facing a 'crisis level of exhaustion' as the COVID-19
pandemic continues
.....
Australia
https://thewest.com.au/news/coronavirus/tasmania-records-699-new-covid-19-cases-c-
5519137
Headline: Virus-strained Tas nurses flag action
.....
Australia
https://coastcommunitynews.com.au/central-coast/news/2022/02/nurses-run-ragged-at-
gosford-hospital-say-tesch-and-reid/
Headline: Nurses run ragged at Gosford Hospital say Tesch and Reid
.....
Australia
https://www.portnews.com.au/story/7605896/taken-for-granted-nurses-to-rally-against-
difficult-working-conditions/
Headline: Port Macquarie nurses to hold rally highlighting difficult working conditions on
Sunday, February 6
.....
Australia
https://www.theweeklysource.com.au/nursing-union-survey-finds-one-in-five-aged-care-
workers-paid-for-their-own-rapid-antigen-test/
Headline: Nursing union survey finds one in five aged care workers paid for their own
Rapid Antigen Test
.....
19Australia
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/feb/02/doctors-push-to-clear-
australias-elective-surgery-backlog-but-exhausted-nurses-want-pause-to-continue
Headline: Doctors push to clear Australia’s elective surgery backlog but ‘exhausted’
nurses want pause to continue
.....
Australia
https://www.afr.com/work-and-careers/workplace/unions-warn-of-new-battleground-as-
old-agreements-fuel-wage-inertia-20220203-p59tjj
Headline: Unions warn of ‘new battleground’ as old agreements fuel wage inertia
.....
Australia
https://www.echo.net.au/2022/02/patient-ratios-needed-in-nsw-health-system/
Headline: Patient ratios needed in NSW health system
.....
Australia
https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/nsw-nurses-and-midwives-protest-unsustainable-
conditions
Headline: NSW nurses and midwives protest unsustainable conditions
.....
Brazil
https://diariodonordeste.verdesmares.com.br/opiniao/colunistas/jessica-
welma/deputados-querem-aprovar-relatorio-sobre-piso-salarial-da-enfermagem-em-
fevereiro-1.3188467
Manchete: Deputados querem aprovar relatório sobre piso salarial da enfermagem em
fevereiro
Headline: Deputies want to approve report on nursing salary floor in February
………..
Brazil
https://www.folhape.com.br/noticias/no-distrito-federal-coronavirus-contamina-50-
profissionais-de-saude/214565/
Manchete: No Distrito Federal, coronavírus contamina 50 profissionais de saúde por dia
e já pressiona SUS
Headline: In the Federal District, coronavirus infects 50 health professionals a day and is
already putting pressure on SUS
………
20Canada
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/newfoundland-hospital-
overcapacity-1.6335185
Headline: Frequent overcrowding at N.L. hospitals shows health care is 'broken,' says
nurses' union
.....
Canada
https://www.toronto.com/news-story/10565976-ontario-s-nursing-shortage-is-worse-
than-ever-how-did-we-get-here-/
Headline: Ontario’s nursing shortage is worse than ever. How did we get here?
.....
Canada
https://www.benefitscanada.com/benefits/health-wellness/alberta-nurses-union-deal-
boosts-mental-health-support-sobeys-union-deal-increases-rrsp-contribution-match/
Headline: Alberta nurses’ union deal boosts mental-health support, Sobeys’ union deal
increases RRSP contribution match
.....
Canada
https://vocm.com/2022/02/04/premiers-hoping-to-secure-increase-in-federal-health-
care-transfers-meeting/
Headline: Premiers Calling on Ottawa to Increase Health Care Funding to Provinces
.....
Canada
https://globalnews.ca/news/8595954/doug-ford-to-meet-again-with-ontario-nurses-
union/
Headline: Doug Ford to meet again with Ontario nurses’ union on worker retention plan
.....
Canada
https://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/new-campaign-puts-spotlight-on-daily-struggles-of-new-
brunswick-nurses-1.5768322
Headline: New campaign puts spotlight on daily struggles of New Brunswick nurses
.....
Canada
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/nova-scotia-nursing-students-plug-staff-
shortages-1.6331796
Headline: Nova Scotia nursing students drafted to fill staff shortages
.....
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