IN THIS ISSUE . . . E4 From ONA President Linda Haslam-Stroud, RN E5 From ONA First Vice-President Vicki McKenna, RN Vol. 14 • No. 1 MARCH 2014 ’s aggressive public campaign calling for an end to nursing cuts to ensure the best possible care for our patients has officially launched, and its success de- pends largely on the involvement of our front-line members. On February 10, 2014, ONA unveiled our More Nurses-themed campaign, which fea- tures television and subway ads and a “microsite” (website) chalked full of information and tips on how you and our supporters can help fight for an appropriate number of registered nurses in our system. e television ad also began airing on February 10 and features several ONA members in a number of scenarios showing that Ontarians can’t predict when they will need a nurse. at was followed closely by a similarly-themed transit ad, promi- The Members’ Publication of the Ontario Nurses’ Association continues on page 3 ONA Who better than ONA front-line members to warn about the dire consequences of continu- ing down the path of eliminating RN positions in our province? In our clever new television and transit ads, ONA members Marcia Robinson (pictured), along with Cindy Orlicki, Roland Orlicki, Cathryn Hoy, Eve Edwards and Sabrina (Xiaoxia) Wu, explain what more nurses means to them. INDEX Up Front ......................................................... 3 Member News ............................................. 6 ONA News ................................................... 11 Queen’s Park Update ............................... 15 OHC ............................................................... 15 Occupational Health & Safety .............. 16 Pensions ....................................................... 17 Student Affiliation .................................... 18 Education .................................................... 19 Human Rights and Equity ..................... 20 Awards and Decisions............................. 22 ONTARIO NURSES’ ASSOCIATION 85 Grenville St., Ste. 400 Toronto ON M5S 3A2 Turn the page for an IMPORTANT LETTER from Your ONA President ONA Campaign Calls for More Nurses Now!
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IN THIS ISSUE . . .E4From ONA President
Linda Haslam-Stroud, RN
E5From ONA First Vice-President
Vicki McKenna, RN
Vol. 14 • No. 1MARCH 2014
’s aggressive public campaign calling for an end to nursing cuts to ensure the best possible care for our patients has officially launched, and its success de-
pends largely on the involvement of our front-line members.On February 10, 2014, ONA unveiled our More Nurses-themed campaign, which fea-
tures television and subway ads and a “microsite” (website) chalked full of information and tips on how you and our supporters can help fight for an appropriate number of registered nurses in our system.
The television ad also began airing on February 10 and features several ONA members in a number of scenarios showing that Ontarians can’t predict when they will need a nurse. That was followed closely by a similarly-themed transit ad, promi-
The Members’ Publication of the Ontario Nurses’ Association
continues on page 3
ONA
Who better than ONA front-line members to warn about the dire consequences of continu-
ing down the path of eliminating RN positions in our province? In our clever new television
and transit ads, ONA members Marcia Robinson (pictured), along with Cindy Orlicki, Roland
Orlicki, Cathryn Hoy, Eve Edwards and Sabrina (Xiaoxia) Wu, explain what more nurses
means to them.
INDEXUp Front ......................................................... 3Member News ............................................. 6ONA News ...................................................11Queen’s Park Update ...............................15OHC ...............................................................15Occupational Health & Safety ..............16Pensions .......................................................17Student Affiliation ....................................18Education ....................................................19Human Rights and Equity .....................20Awards and Decisions .............................22
ONTARIO NURSES’ ASSOCIATION85 Grenville St., Ste. 400Toronto ON M5S 3A2
Turn the page for an IMPORTANT LETTER from Your ONA President
ONA Campaign Calls for More Nurses Now!
MARCH 20142 www.ona.org
Linda Haslam-Stroud, RN
President, VM #2254 Communications & Government
Relations / Student Liaison
Vicki McKenna, RN
First VP, VM #2314Political Action & Professional Issues
EOrillia 210 Memorial Ave., Unit 126A Orillia, ON L3V 7V1 Tel: (705) 327-0404 Fax: (705) 327-0511EOttawa 1400 Clyde Ave., Ste. 211 Nepean, ON K2G 3J2 Tel: (613) 226-3733 Fax: (613) 723-0947ESudbury 764 Notre Dame Ave., Unit 3 Sudbury, ON P3A 2T4 Tel: (705) 560-2610 Fax: (705) 560-1411
EThunder Bay #300, Woodgate Centre,
1139 Alloy Dr. Thunder Bay, ON P7B 6M8 Tel: (807) 344-9115 Fax: (807) 344-8850ETimmins Canadian Mental Health
Association Building 330 Second Ave, Ste. 203 Timmins, ON P4N 8A4 Tel: (705) 264-2294 Fax: (705) 268-4355EWindsor 3155 Howard Ave., Ste. 220 Windsor, ON N8X 3Y9
Tel: (519) 966-6350 Fax: (519) 972-0814
ONA Regional Offices
The Members’ Publication of the Ontario Nurses’ Association
continues from cover ONA Campaign Calls for More Nursesnently placed at the Queen’s Park subway station in downtown Toronto for maximum viewing by those who work in government and make decisions for our province.
The Current SituationWith the elimination of RN positions a reg-ular occurrence throughout Ontario, and a provincial election a strong possibly for late spring, the time was ripe to launch our most ambitious campaign to date.
The statistics driving our campaign are sobering. Since 2012, the Ontario govern-ment has cut almost 1,400 nursing posi-tions and there are currently 800 fewer full-time RNs, giving our province the unfortu-nate distinction of having the second lowest nurse-to-patient ratio in the country. Just to catch up we would need to hire 17,500 additional nurses. Add to that the fact that in 2013 the average age of an RN was 45.5 years, 25 per cent of employed RNs were 55 and 13 per cent over 60, and it’s not hard to see that we have a serious crisis on our hand.
“To say that unsafe registered nurse staff-ing levels are stretching nursing care too thin
PARTICIPATE IN THE ONLINE CONVERSATION
New Website Speaks to our Core Message: More Nurses!ONA’s campaign to inform Ontarians that more registered nurses are
needed in our health care system is making a virtual impact of its own.
Launched last month, our www.morenurses.ca website provides
visitors many – and simple – opportunities to show support to nurses
across Ontario.
Boasting a colourful and engaging design, the site houses several
interactive sections:
• A robust activity centre that includes videos and photos that en-
sures ONA’s key message is heard loud and clear: Ontario needs
more nurses. Web visitors can submit videos and images that
speak to this important issue. Tell us about your nursing story us-
ing video or photos:
- Why did you become a nurse?
- What are your challenges in your day-to-day worklife?
- How can it be better?
and putting our patients at risk is a gross un-derstatement,” said ONA President Linda Haslam-Stroud. “But it doesn’t have to be this way. If our system was staffed with the appropriate number of nurses, it would re-sult in more nursing care for each patient, shorter wait times, fewer complications and lower death rates for patients, saving the health care system significant money. Instead of cutting nurses, we need to train and hire more so we can provide the high-est-quality care for everyone.”
Tim Hudak’s Anti-Nurse, Anti-Union Plan To make matters worse, we are also faced with the real threat of a Tim Hudak-led Conserva-tive government, which will privatize health care services even more, bringing in an Amer-ican-style two-tiered health care system. The rich will get the best care, and the rest of us? Well, we will get whatever is left over.
“If that isn’t a frightening enough pros-pect, Mr. Hudak will also cut our pensions, increase workload and impose a two-year wage freeze” added Haslam-Stroud. “Attack-ing nurses may drive them out of nursing in
Submission instructions are available at www.morenurses.ca. Cap-
ture one of the nursing themes above or create your own and send it
to us – it may be featured on the website.
• Notes to Nurses. Visitors can send personal notes of encourage-
ment to front-line nurses. It’s nurses’ own personal e-bulletin board!
• Take a small step in political action: Users are encouraged to send
an email to a local MPP to tell him/her to hire more nurses –
enough with the RN cuts!
• Download our graphics. Through your personal social media ac-
counts, share our photos and graphics with your followers and
tell them that RN cuts are a no-no.
Be sure to participate in the discussion: Ontario Needs More Nurses!
Visit the www.morenurses.ca website often as information is up-
dated regularly.
ONA President Linda Haslam-Stroud launches
our More Nurses campaign at Ryerson Univer-
sity on February 10, 2014.
the province and discourage young people from choosing this profession altogether.”
How You Can HelpOur future could look very different – and that’s where you come in. Our campaign is a starting point to get our members mobi-lized in this fight, and we have made it very easy to do. From sending a templated letter to your MPP to photographing yourself with one of our More Nurses signs to spreading the message to the people in your life, log on to www.morenurses.ca to learn what you can do (see story below) or ask your Local leader for one of our campaign pamphlets. Every little bit helps.
There likely isn’t an ONA member in the province who is un-aware of the challenges to patient care created by unrelenting RN cuts.
While your union has been out there decrying the watering down of nursing care that is the result of multiple years of hos-pital underfunding, including two fiscal years of zero base fund-ing increases, the cuts have continued. This month, ONA is saying enough!
As you can see from our cover, on February 10, ONA launched a very ambitious, public campaign to call for an end to nursing cuts – and for more nurses for Ontario. As ONA has always emphasized, you – our front-line members and the face of health care to Ontar-ians – have a vital role to play in making this campaign go far.
There is no question that the quality of care is suffering as em-ployers cut the front lines to balance the bottom line. As nurses
are the face of care, I am asking everyone to support the campaign, to talk to your colleagues, friends, neighbours and families about the link between RN staffing levels and positive patient health outcomes, and about the savings the system
would enjoy if we could provide the best-quality care to patients that comes with safe staffing levels.
As the cuts have continued, Ontario has had the dubious hon-our of having the second-worst RN-to-population ratio in the en-tire country. Not only are we as nurses suffering from more illness and injury due to stress and burnout, our patients are suffering. This is simply unacceptable.
As your More Nurses campaign continues, I ask that you please consider supporting it locally. ONA is here to help!
We need more nurses now. Please join in advocating for safer, high-quality patient care.
Please join in advocating for safer, high-quality patient care.
Plus d’infirmières et infirmiers autorisés dès maintenant!
Tous les membres de l’AIIO sont probablement bien conscients des défis posés par les incessantes suppressions de postes d’infirmières et d’infirmiers autorisés en ce qui a trait aux
soins des patients.Les coupes se poursuivent, bien que votre syndicat ait dénoncé
haut et fort l’affaiblissement des soins infirmiers résultant de nom-breuses années marquées par le sous-financement des hôpitaux, dont deux exercices financiers sans aucune hausse du financement de base. Ce mois-ci, l’AIIO dit que c’est assez!
Comme vous pouvez le constater sur la page couverture de notre publication, le 4 février, l’AIIO a lancé une campagne publique très ambitieuse pour réclamer la fin des abolitions de postes et exiger que l’Ontario se dote d’un plus grand nombre d’infirmières et d’infirmiers.
Il ne fait aucun doute que la qualité des soins souffre des coupes que les employeurs font subir aux employés de première ligne afin d’équilibrer leur bilan financier. Puisque c’est vous qui incarnez la réalité des soins de santé, je demande à chacune et à chacun d’entre vous de soutenir la campagne et de discuter avec vos collègues, vos amis, vos voisins et vos proches du lien qui existe entre le nombre d’IA et les résultats de santé des patients, ainsi que des économies qui pourraient être réalisées dans le système si nous pouvions of-frir aux patients les soins de qualité optimale associés à des niveaux de dotation adéquats.
C’est une véritable honte pour nous qui sommes les porte-pa-role des patients. Nous, les infirmières, subissons plus de blessures et de maladies liées au stress et à l’épuisement professionnel, et nos patients souffrent également. C’est tout simplement inacceptable.
Notre campagne Plus d’infirmières se poursuit, et je vous de-mande de penser au soutien que vous pouvez y apporter à l’échelle locale. L’AIIO est là pour aider.
Nous avons besoin de plus d’infirmières et d’infirmiers dès maintenant. S’il vous plaît, joignez-vous à notre campagne pour réclamer que les patients bénéficient sans tarder d’une prestation de soins de santé plus sécuritaire et de qualité.
While the annual action plan of the Ontario Health Coali-tion (OHC) is always something we encourage our mem-bers to help bring to life, with an impending provincial
election and the Tim Hudak-led Tories bent on privatizing our health care system, it is even more crucial that we all do our part.
The action plan, a blueprint of the campaigns the OHC and its members, including ONA, will embark on this year, was designed in part by our members and staff during the OHC’s Health Action As-sembly this past November and issues dozens of recommendations under eight broad categories.
Not surprisingly, the action plan focuses heavily on the pros-pect of a May provincial election, with plans for a public campaign that will build support for improved funding for health care ser-vices, provide a party platform comparison and educate the public on their choices. You can be sure ONA will be piggybacking this
campaign in conjunction with our own.
Other actions for this year in-clude: conducting a media tour across Ontario to bring attention to inadequate care levels for long-
term care residents; calling for a public inquiry into violations of the Canada Health Act by private clinics; conducting a door-to-door campaign to stop the dismantling of community hospitals; promoting progressive reform in home care; and supporting the national campaign to win a renegotiated Health Accord with stable funding and national standards.
I am imploring each and every one of you to support the action plan in any way you can, including joining the activities of your own local health coalitions. In today’s fragile political climate, I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that the very future of our profession, our health care system, the care we provide to our pa-tients/clients/residents and our union is at stake.
I am imploring you to support the OHC’s action plan.
Nous devons tous contribuer à améliorer les soins de santé
Nous encourageons toujours nos membres à contribuer à la réalisation du plan d’action annuel de l’Ontario Health Coalition (OHC), mais devant l’imminence d’une élection
provinciale et la détermination des conservateurs de Tim Hudak à privatiser encore plus les services de soins de santé, notre partici-pation collective est encore plus importante.
Ce plan d’action fournit l’orientation des campagnes que l’OHC et ses membres, y compris l’AIIO, entreprendront cette an-née. Conçu en partie par nos membres et notre personnel lors de l’Assemblée pour une action en santé en novembre dernier, il con-tient des dizaines de recommandations réparties dans huit grandes catégories.
Sans surprise, le plan d’action met beaucoup l’accent sur la per-spective d’une élection provinciale. Vous pouvez être assurés que l’AIIO soutiendra cette campagne conjointement à la sienne.
Voici d’autres activités au programme pour cette année : nous organiserons une tournée médiatique dans l’ensemble de l’Ontario avec une chaise berçante géante afin d’attirer l’attention sur le niveau inadéquat des soins offerts aux résidents des établissements de soins de longue durée; nous réclamerons une enquête publique sur les infractions à la Loi canadienne sur la santé par les cliniques privées; nous effectuerons une campagne de porte-à-porte pour mettre fin aux fermetures d’hôpitaux communautaires; nous fer-ons la promotion d’une réforme progressive des soins à domicile; et nous soutiendrons la campagne nationale visant l’obtention d’un accord renégocié sur les soins de santé prévoyant un financement stable et des normes nationales.
J’encourage fortement chacune et chacun d’entre vous à soute-nir le plan d’action dans la mesure de vos moyens, notamment en participant aux activités organisées par votre coalition de santé locale. Vu le climat politique précaire qui prévaut actuellement, je ne crois pas exagéré d’affirmer que c’est l’avenir même de notre profession, de notre système de soins de santé, des soins que nous fournissons à nos patients/clients/résidents et de notre syndicat qui est en jeu.
Employer Implements Changes to Medical Unit and Beyond Thanks to ONA PRC A significant Professional Responsibility Complaint (PRC) settlement at Windsor’s Ho-
tel-Dieu Grace Hospital has resulted in improvements not only to the unit in question,
but the entire facility.
In March 2010, practice and workload concerns of RNs on the hospital’s medical
unit – including inadequate base and relief staff, resulting in unfilled shifts on the
posted schedule, inability to replace sick calls, inadequate evening and night shift
staffing, insufficient staff to travel to other units to implement dialysis, and pharmacy
and medication administration issues – escalated and were documented on ONA pro-
Celebrating our Future Nurses!ONA Supports Student Nurses At National ConferenceThe ONA Board of Directors has shown our
union’s continued commitment to future nurses
by supporting and attending the National Con-
ference of the Canadian Nursing Students’ As-
sociation (CNSA), held in downtown Vancouver
from January 22-25, 2014.
Under the theme, “Envision. Create. Inno-
vate,” the conference, attended by more than
600 students across the country, featured sev-
eral guest speakers on topics such as gender di-
versity and computerized adaptive testing, and
a strong union contingent, including ONA First
Vice-President Vicki McKenna and Canadian Fed-
eration of Nurses Unions President Linda Silas.
Through an open platform of discussion and
collaboration, attendees were given the oppor-
tunity to learn about different educational op-
portunities available to them and expectations
from future health care employers and explore
their personal passions. The goal of the confer-
ence, hosted by Langara College, was to nurture
the ongoing effort to spark change and transi-
tions in nursing and empower nursing students
to create an impact in their communities, both
nationally and internationally.
During the conference, which also featured a
career fair and exhibit hall where ONA staffed a
table, McKenna linked with Ontario members of
the CNSA, including President Carly Whitmore,
the former Ontario Regional Director (ORD), and
current ORD Nick Alves. Alves was elected Com-
munications Director at the conference and Cat
Davy, a second-year nursing student from Lake-
head University, takes over as ORD in April. Ra-
jet Anand is the President-elect. ONA President
Linda Haslam-Stroud is an honourary member of
the CNSA.
Visit the Nursing Students box on the right-hand
side of our website at www.ona.org for more on
our nursing student affiliation.
Nursing students from Western University-Fan-
shawe College proudly display the banner
signed by their fellow nursing students to ac-
knowledge National Nursing Students’ Week
from November 17-23, 2013. During the week,
a Nursing Night Out event was staged, and
nursing students were given an array of ONA
promotional items. “It is important that we
celebrate National Nursing Students’ Week to
recognize our hard work and contributions
to the health care setting,” said Melany Nose-
worthy, the university’s Canadian Nursing
Students’ Association (CNSA) Official Dele-
gate. “As nursing students, we put in endless time and effort
preparing for unpaid clinical practicum and in-class assignments, which is one of the
reasons why this week means so much.” ONA members celebrated right alongside
them by displaying our new National Nursing Students’ Week poster (pictured), and
by embracing the new perspectives and energy that nursing students bring to our
profession. We encourage you to continue to talk to them about your experiences –
and listen to theirs – because we can learn so much from each other!
Nursing students make valuable contributions to our work, our Union, and our health.Celebrate by welcoming the new perspectives
and energy that nursing students bring.This National Nursing Students’ Week, let’s talk with nursing students and share our experiences as professionals and Union members.
Nursing Students: The Future of Our Profession
National Nursing Students’ WeekNOVEMBER 17-23, 2013
Celebrate National Nursing Students’ Week!All of the more than 14,000 nursing students studying in Ontario who are members of the Canadian Nursing Students’ Association (CNSA) are automatically affiliate-members of the Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA), Canada’s largest nurses’ Union.
The following is a sampling of recent key awards and/or decisions in one or more of the following areas: rights arbitration, interest arbitration, Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB), Long-Term Disability (LTD) and Ontario Labour Relations Board.
RightsHospitals cannot post “temporary” positions not covered by exceptions in collective agreementRegion 3 Hospital
Arbitrator Stout (September 11, 2013)
Article 10.07(d) of the central collective
agreement provides that vacancies not ex-
pected to exceed 60 calendar days and those
caused by illness, accident or leaves of ab-
sence (including pregnancy and parental)
may be filled at the discretion of the hospital.
These are referred to as “temporary” vacan-
cies. At issue in this case were three griev-
ances alleging that the hospital had violated
the central collective agreement by posting
three new full-time positions as “temporary”
positions. The postings ranged from six to 12
months.
Occasionally, the hospital receives fund-
ing from the Local Health Integration Net-
work (LHIN) or a physician receives a financial
grant from a third-party source that would al-
low it to hire an RN for a set period of time.
In filling these vacancies, the hospital would
post the positions as “temporary” and indi-
cate a fixed-end date. The hospital argued
that 10.07(d) is not exhaustive in that it only
speaks to some, but not all types of tempo-
rary vacancies. The hospital’s position was
that this was the reality of LHIN funding in
the current economic climate and that it was
acting within its management rights when
posting these “temporary” vacancies.
Further, in its view, there was no harm or
prejudice to ONA or to the incumbent RN in
that a different or former position remained
available when the funding ended.
ONA argued that Article 10.07(d) is ex-
haustive in stipulating the few situations
in which a temporary vacancy would be al-
lowable under the collective agreement. All
other positions are permanent and the posi-
tions in dispute should have been posted as
such. In our view, there exist no exceptions
for time-limited or temporary funding by an
outside source.
A secondary issue was whether the hos-
pital’s actions amounted to a layoff under
the collective agreement when the position
came to an end. ONA took the position that
given the line of cases holding that a reas-
signment for more than one shift of a nurse
triggers a layoff, should the funding be dis-
continued and the position cease, the nurse
in the position would be in a layoff situation
and be entitled to layoff options. Two earlier
and conflicting 2008 arbitration awards were
presented, which addressed similar issues.
Arbitrator Stout allowed the grievance
and made several key findings. First, Article
10.07(d) is sufficiently clear and provides a
definition of what a temporary vacancy is.
Further, the parties have expressly and spe-
cifically provided for the circumstances that
give rise to temporary vacancies and these
exceptions are complete and exhaustive. In
this case, the hospital mischaracterized the
postings as “temporary.” Further, he accepted
ONA’s argument that due to our unique lay-
off language, a nurse whose position ends
due to the termination of funding and who
subsequently returns back to her former po-
sition or is reassigned somewhere else in the
hospital, is in a layoff situation and should be
entitled to layoff options.
Importance to ONA: It appears that given
the current model of funding RN positions,
this scenario is prevalent across the province.
Therefore, we are hopeful this decision will
have a broad and positive impact and settle
any conflicts that may have arisen as a result
of the two previous awards.
WSIBMedical consultant concurs with diagnosis after WSIB denies benefitsEast Hospital