04/30/2026
Not written by me but felt by me 🤍
Over the coming weeks, you’re going to hear a lot about nurses and collective agreements. I want to be very clear about what this is really about.
Nurses are at an impasse because the government is refusing to meaningfully come to the bargaining table on multiple critical issues that directly affect patient care and the nursing workforce. Benefits are one of the major issues, but they are not the only one.
This dispute is being framed as a single benefit issue, massage therapy. Let’s be clear, this is not about massage therapy. That is simply the example being used. The real issue is that the government is refusing to negotiate what benefits should look like and is instead attempting to impose and dictate changes.
When decisions start being imposed instead of negotiated, it sets a dangerous precedent. It signals a fundamental disrespect for nurses, their profession, and the collective bargaining process itself. What is dictated today can be eroded tomorrow, benefit by benefit, and once that door is opened, it does not easily close.
Benefits matter because they directly affect whether nurses can stay healthy and stay in the profession. In British Columbia, studies and workforce data consistently show high levels of burnout, missed breaks, and nurses leaving or planning to leave due to unsustainable working conditions. Benefits like extended health coverage help nurses manage physical strain, workplace injuries, and mental health impacts that come with the job. Benefits are not extras. They are a key part of recruitment, retention, and keeping experienced nurses at the bedside so patients receive safe, consistent care.
At the same time, nurses are asking the government to keep its promises, including commitments to safe nurse to patient ratios. These ratios are essential for patient safety, quality care, and preventing burnout. This is about better care for patients and sustainable working conditions for the people delivering that care.
More than 90 percent of nurses have indicated they are prepared to strike to protect these agreements and the future of healthcare. Nurses do not take this lightly. They understand the impact and they are still standing firm because what’s at stake matters that much.
Nurses are the backbone of healthcare. They are present at life’s first moments and its last. They staff emergency departments, hospitals, long term care, home care, and community settings, nights, weekends, holidays, and everything in between. They advocate for patients when no one else can. They ensure dignity, safety, and compassionate care at the most vulnerable moments of people’s lives.
And here’s the truth. Almost everyone knows and loves a nurse. They are a friend, a family member, or a loved one. Someone people rely on and look to for guidance, reassurance, and honesty. The nurse in your life is often the one others turn to with questions, worries, and trust, because they know that nurse will tell them the truth and show up when it matters.
Nurses carry immense responsibility and public trust every single day, and that doesn’t end when a shift does. They show up in their personal lives too, for family, friends, neighbours, and communities, in moments of crisis, grief, joy, and exhaustion. They bring the same steadiness, care, and integrity wherever they are, and that is what our healthcare system and our communities depend on.
Supporting nurses is not political. It’s practical. When nurses are respected, supported, and heard, patients are safer and care is stronger.
If you value healthcare, you value nurses.
Please stand with the nurses of BC!
Copied from a co-worker of a friend.
