The Manitoba Nurses Union is pleased with the announcement shared yesterday that the British Columbia Nurses’ Union (BCNU) has officially joined the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions (CFNU), which is our nation’s largest frontline nurses’ organization.
“This is certainly a historic moment, one that many of us have been waiting years for,” said MNU President Darlene Jackson, who is currently in Vancouver attending the BCNU’s annual convention. “We truly are stronger together now, and we are united as nurses from coast to coast!”
Yesterday’s announcement follows a unanimous motion from the CFNU’s National Executive Board, of which President Jackson is a member, and a formal welcome by CFNU President Linda Silas.
“Nurses are in crisis. Our health care system is in crisis. Over the past months, we have met with the premiers, the Prime Minister and the federal Minister of Health. Next week, we will bring solutions from frontline nurses to the meeting of federal, provincial and territorial health ministers,” said Silas in a CFNU press release. “Only working in partnership can we push all levels of government to take action to better protect nurses. Only together can we make sure quality patient care is there for generations of Canadians to come.”
With the addition of the BCNU, the CFNU is the national voice for nine provincial unions and Canada’s nursing students, representing nurses working in all health care settings across the country.
“For more than four decades, the BCNU has proudly represented more than 48,000 of British Columbia’s frontline nurses. We are delighted to join with our fellow nurses across Canada. Our members have strongly declared their support for this historic step,” said BCNU President Aman Grewal.
This wasn’t the only positive CFNU news over the last few days, as on November 1, President Silas attended the inaugural meeting of the Coalition for Action for Healthcare workers.
This new collaborative, action-oriented Coalition was established by Health Canada to focus on solutions to the health care staffing crisis by identifying approaches to drive pan-Canadian action and progress on policy implementation. Among the first priorities of the Coalition is the retention, recruitment and return of health care workers to our public system.
Silas said that it is encouraging that Minister of Health Jean-Yves Duclos and Minister of Seniors Kamal Khera “moved so quickly to create this advisory body. Urgent action is crucial to retain nurses and put an end to the nursing shortage.”
For more on this Coalition, please visit this link.