Ontario Nurses' Association

21/11/2025

Yesterday, France Gélinas, MPP for Nickel Belt and the Ontario NDP Critic for Health Care asked Minister of Health Sylvia Jones what her government is doing to ensure primary care workers at North York Family Health Team (NYFHT) are compensated fairly.

We don't need the government to get involved in negotiations, we need the government to hold Family Health Teams accountable by ensuring public funding is used as intended. The provincial government provided additional funding for retention and recruitment but the NYFHT Board of Directors used this money to pay for their own financial mismanagement. Shame!

Tell Minister Jones to hold the NYFHT Board of Directors accountable and reallocate the funding to the staff who diligently provide primary care to 95,000+ patients: ona.org/nyfht

Watch the full video at: https://youtu.be/_E9ht_ps4ig

In question period at Queen's Park, France Gelinas, Member of Provincial Parliament for Nickel Belt and the Ontario NDP Critic for Health Care asked the Mini...

21/11/2025

Twenty registered nurses (RNs) providing care at the Mill Creek Care Centre have voted to join the Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA).

“These dedicated and highly skilled RNs are joining Canada’s largest nurses’ union, a powerful movement of nurses and health-care professionals committed to fighting for each other and those we care for,” says ONA Provincial President Erin Ariss, RN. “We confront governments, administrations and other policymakers head on to fight for high-quality public health care.”

Read more at: https://ona.org/news/20251121-mill-creek-rns-join/

21/11/2025

ICYMI at , here's a quick update on ONA's bargaining wins over the past two years.

20/11/2025

Today, striking ONA members from North York Family Health Team (NYFHT) visited Queen’s Park to tell Minister of Health, Sylvia Jones and her government to step in and restore primary care to 95,000+ patients. They have been on strike since October 20 because their employer used government funding to make up for their own financial mismanagement. Minister Jones must step in immediately and ensure that public funds are being used as intended, for fair wages. A sincere thank you to the Ontario NDP and Ontario Liberal Party / Parti Libéral de l'Ontario for their support. ONA members will continue to fight for accountability and a fair contact so that all Ontarians can get the primary care they need and deserve.

You can email Minister Jones and the NYFHT board of directors today to demand fair wages for primary care workers at ona.org/NYFHT

20/11/2025

ONA members and board members attended the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) Convention this week, alongside fellow unions representing more than one million workers. They joined a powerful rally to oppose the passage of Bill 33, which sidelines democratically elected local school trustees, and to support developmental service workers who have never received a remedy for Bill 124. Rally attendees also supported the North York Family Health Team picket line, showing solidarity with striking ONA members.

20/11/2025

“ It’s day after day that you’re dealing with violence, so you really start to ask yourself the question – is this worth it?

If we lose the good experienced nurses in health care, the cycle continues – another nurse that feels burdened and burnt out. And then we just have a health-care system that is derailing from the tracks.”

It’s time to protect nurses. Make safe staffing a priority.
https://nursestalktruth.ca/

19/11/2025

ONA’s 2025 Biennial Convention may be over, but four first-time attendees won’t soon forget the experience. Take Ghail Medaflor, for example. As Extendicare Guildwood Bargaining Unit President for just two months, she was “completely stoked” to attend her first Biennial.

“At the same time, I was overwhelmed because so much was happening. The whole week was very tiring, but I enjoyed everything. ONA is a very well-organized union, and I made so many connections. What a great opportunity!”

Read more about Ghail and other ONA members' experiences at:

Four first-time attendees with a various array of union experience describe their key takeaways from ONA’s recent Biennial Convention.

19/11/2025

ONA's new Beyond Equity: The Courage to Care podcast is all about hearing stories about work and life from each other, through a lens of anti-racism and anti-oppression. If you work in healthcare and especially if you’re a member of ONA, this podcast is for you.

In our first episode, we meet Janet and hear about her experience working as a Black nurse in Ontario.

Find Beyond Equity: The Courage to Care wherever you get your podcasts and on the F-Word website: https://onamag.org/fuse/rights/beyond-equity-podcast-episode-1/

18/11/2025

It was a sobering moment at ONA’s recent Biennial Convention. Provincial President Erin Ariss asked delegates – almost 1,000 – to raise their hand if they’ve ever been assaulted, verbally or physically, at work.

Just about every hand went up.

That alarming visual is the reason behind ONA’s latest Nurses Talk Truth advertising campaign, Code Black and Blue. As the name suggests, the powerful campaign reveals the reality of a bruised and battered workforce, highlighting that a lack of staff is the biggest contributing factor, and calls a code for urgent action.

Read more here: https://onamag.org/fuel/provincial-campaigns/code-black-and-blue-part-i/ 💙

18/11/2025

Did you know that 95,000+ patients at North York Family Health Team have been without primary care for 5 weeks because their Board of Directors mismanaged government funding meant for retention and recruitment? Minister of Health, Sylvia Jonesnes must hold employers accountable and ensure that public money - our taxpayer dollars – is spent as intended. Without this accountability, our communities won’t get the primary care we need and deserve.

Tell Sylvia Jones to step in or else you and your family might be at risk of losing access to primary care next. Visit ona.org/NYFHT today!

Primary care workers at North York Family Health Team are fighting for fair wages and job security so that they can continue providing the care our communities need and deserve.

18/11/2025

On August 14, 2025, the provincial government mandated full-time return to office for all Ontario Public Service employees and ONA’s 4,200 registered nurses and health-care professionals working at Ontario Health atHome (OHaH). They took this action with no meaningful consultation with workers, disregarding both the proven success of hybrid work models and the work models that provide the best care for patients.

Show your support for OHaH workers as they fight to defend their working conditions. Tell the government to stop this plan and engage in meaningful dialogue to develop a modern, evidence-based workplace strategy that benefits both employees and the people of Ontario.

Send your message today: https://ona.org/campaign/ontario-health-athome/

17/11/2025

We're looking for input from ONA's nursing student affiliate members!

If you are studying nursing at a Canadian Nursing Students' Association chapter college or university in Ontario, we want to hear your perspectives on a critical area of health-care: primary care.

Please tell us more about your experiences by completing this short survey: https://ona.surveymonkey.com/r/primary-care-student-survey