October 25th, 2021

Horwath calls for vote to start massive nursing hiring and retention plan

QUEEN'S PARK — Official Opposition NDP Leader Andrea Horwath will move a motion in the legislature Monday to launch a massive, province-wide hiring and retention strategy to address Ontario's health care staffing crisis.

Horwath's urgent action plan includes hiring thousands of nurses and personal support workers, a retention plan to ensure skilled nurses stay in the sector and funding to put enough nurses on every shift in every health care setting to prevent worker burnout.

"If we don't do right by nurses, we're going to lose them," Horwath said. "That means painful wait times and the list of backlogged surgeries will get even longer. Nurses and PSWs are exhausted and burnt out from the pandemic.

"The former Liberal government cut 1,600 nurses and froze hospital budgets. Doug Ford didn't hire during the pandemic, and his wage restraint bill has left our frontline heroes feeling disrespected as their wages fall behind inflation."

According to the Ontario Science Table, 43 per cent of nurses in Ontario are considering leaving the sector. The Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions estimated in September more than 16,000 vacancies in Ontario health care jobs.

"If we act right now, we can stop the staffing crisis in health care from spiralling out of control," Horwath said. "An NDP government would hire thousands more nurses, repeal Ford's wage cap bill and attract and retain health pros by improving working conditions -- including giving them fair wages, full-time hours and paid sick days."

The NDP motion includes:

  • A retention plan for nurses with valuable skills, training and experience, including nurses with emergency department and surgical team experience
  • Eliminating Ford’s wage cap bill, Bill 124
  • A training plan for new health care workers, who will be given full time jobs and fair wages
  • Funding for hospitals, long-term care homes and other health care settings to have enough staff on each shift
  • Giving nurses paid sick days and other supports to stay well