At a press conference Tuesday morning, Ontario Liberal MPs John Fraser and Dr. Adil Shamji, said Jones and Premier Doug Ford remain missing while the health care sector faces unprecedented levels of pressure and emergency rooms across the province are forced to close. “For months, Ontario’s nurses, doctors and frontline health care workers have been alerting the Ford government to the crisis we are now experiencing in our hospitals,” Fraser said. “The situation is very serious, this situation is very serious. The problem is that we don’t have enough people to provide the care that people need. Nurses are leaving the profession at twice the normal rate and it’s not slowing down. According to the Ontario Nurses Association (ONA), about 25 hospitals in Ontario were forced to curtail parts of their facilities over the long weekend due to staff shortages. MP John Fraser says that “throughout this crisis”, the Prime Minister and Health Minister have been absent and silent. (CBC) According to Fraser, “throughout this crisis” both the prime minister and the health minister have been absent and silent. “The message the prime minister and the minister are sending to the frontline, patients and their families is that we don’t care, it’s not a big deal, you’re on your own,” Fraser said. In a statement sent to CBC Toronto on Friday, Jones said the Ontario government has added more than 10,500 health care workers to the health care system since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. That number includes more than 762 internationally trained nurses, who have been posted to 62 hospitals across the province, he said.
“Like many other jurisdictions around the world, Ontario’s health system is under pressure due to the challenge of maintaining required staffing levels. We are proactively working with all partners, including Ontario Health and its 140 public hospital corporations, regulatory faculties and health sector unions, to deal with these staffing pressures,” he said. Jones added that the government needs to identify short-term and long-term solutions to staff shortages. ONA President Kathryn Hoy said Monday that over the weekend, hospitals had to close units, reduce the number of beds or redirect patients to other locations. He described the situation as a “catastrophe” and warned that staff shortages seen in hospitals across the province over the weekend would worsen. “This passage has to stop now. It really is happening. And nurses are leaving every day,” Hoy said. “And if this continues and there’s no sunshine or hope from the government, it’s going to get worse.” Hoy said she thinks the September weekend will be “horrendous”. ONA represents 68,000 nurses and health professionals and 18,000 student nursing affiliates. He called for the repeal of the legislation, known as Bill 124, which limits annual salary increases for nurses. The Protecting a Sustainable Public Sector for Future Generations Act, enacted in 2019, caps wage increases for provincial employees, including nurses, at one per cent a year, which is below the rate of inflation. “The government needs to sit down with us, pay people what they should be paid, look at staffing them, change some of the programming because people need rest,” he said.

“Zero leadership” emerging, MPP says

Shamji, who is also an emergency physician, says “there has been zero leadership” from Ford and Jones, despite repeated calls for action. “Frankly, I’m baffled that even the emergency department closings on Secretary Jones herself didn’t compel her to say any word or take any action,” Samji said. “I have not been able to get a single response from Minister Jones despite many emails and even last week resorted to sending a letter by post. “Prime Minister Ford and Secretary Jones need to come out … and they need to show leadership,” he added. Dr Adil Shamji says “there has been zero leadership” from Premier Doug Ford and Minister Sylvia Jones, despite repeated calls for action. (CBC) Doris Greenspoon, CEO of the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario (RNAO), said Monday that the nursing shortage has reached a critical point. He described the situation as “terrible”. RNAO is a professional association representing registered nurses, nurses and nursing students in Ontario. Greenspoon said she hopes a meeting with Ontario government cabinet ministers, including Health Minister Sylvia Jones, expected soon, will make a difference. “We need giant steps, which means all the solutions at once. And also those solutions can’t wait until the legislature resumes on August 8. They have to happen now,” he said.