Linda Silas, president of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions, and others have sent an open letter to the premiers: “Ahead of your meeting with fellow premiers starting on [Nov. 5] in Halifax, we wanted to reiterate the urgency behind taking bold and comprehensive action to address the nursing shortage crisis,” reads the letter. “We call … Read more
Canada’s nurses unions are encouraged by governments’ collaborative commitments to bolster the health care workforce, following this week’s productive meetings in P.E.I. “Ministers showed this week that they understand the importance of reining in private agencies, and the solution is clear: retaining our committed, permanent nurses and stabilizing the workforce,” said Linda Silas, president of the Canadian … Read more
Phasing out private nursing agencies and ensuring safe hours of work were the focus of today’s policy briefing between Canada’s union nurses and federal, provincial and territorial health ministers. “Relying on private nurse agencies to fill ongoing staffing needs is both unsustainable and an irresponsible use of taxpayer’s money,” said Linda Silas, president of the Canadian … Read more
As the country’s health ministers hold critical meetings around the future of our public health systems, Canada’s nurses are urging all levels of government to fix the nursing shortage and end the crisis in care. “Retaining nurses is vital to our public health care system, and it is encouraging that our federal minister is giving retention the … Read more
The Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions joined union nurses from across the world for the 2023 Convention of Global Nurses United in California. CFNU president Linda Silas joined union leaders from Brazil, Ireland, the Philippines and the United States for a panel discussion about the global fight nurses are leading to protect patients in times of crisis, … Read more
The Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions is launching a study to investigate the rising use of agency nurses across Canada and its implications on the health care system. “What started as a short-term measure to fill critical staffing needs has become a growing reliance on agency nurses for every and all staffing needs,” explains CFNU President … Read more
Canada’s frontline nurses are calling on the federal government to build on the foundations of Budget 2023 by supporting initiatives that would bolster the nursing workforce and protect the public health care system beyond bilateral agreements. “Budget 2024 is a critical opportunity for the federal government to build on its historic investments in our health care … Read more
Supporting nurses and health care workers to complete the recovery of our ailing health systems was the focus of the July 11 policy meeting between Canada’s premiers and nurse union leaders. “Nurses’ unions offered solutions to premiers today, and we’re ready to work with provinces to end this crisis,” said CFNU president Linda Silas. The CFNU calls … Read more
The Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions issued a statement ahead of the Council of the Federation’s meeting in Winnipeg, Man., from July 10-12. “Nurses have told us how deeply concerned with patient care they are, and burn out is rampant across the profession,” said Linda Silas, president of the CFNU. “We need comprehensive retention initiatives, immediate and long‑term, to … Read more
Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions’ President Linda Silas delivered a strong call to action to nurses gathered from around the world for the 2023 International Council of Nurses Congress in Montreal on July 4. “Just like one province can’t solve a national health crisis at the expense of another province, we can only address the global nursing … Read more
