Ontario’s nurses are getting the ear of Premier Doug Ford as the province approaches the two year mark of a pandemic that has left them frustrated, exhausted and burned out. Ford and Health Minister Christine Elliott have agreed to meet with the Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA) and its president Cathryn Hoy on Feb. 3, after a letter turning down a meeting was sent “in error,” the premier’s office said Tuesday. “If he dropped Bill 124 and wanted to negotiate I’d have a team together within 72 hours and ready to bargain,” Hoy told the Star. “Bill 124 is a lot about respect.”Easing nursing shortages and workloads is also expected to be part of any discussions. ONA, the country’s largest nurses’ union with 68,000 members, wants to see the number of full-time hospital nurses boosted to 70 per cent, up from 50 per cent now.

Source: thestar January 26, 2022 21:10 UTC