Walking the path of reconciliation together
CFNU President Linda Silas, RN.
CFNU President Linda Silas, RN.
By CFNU President Linda Silas, RN
The Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions (CFNU) has the power to influence change in the health-care system, and we’re committed to using that power to stand up for Indigenous peoples’ safety and inclusion.
After many months of learning and planning, the CFNU apologised to First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples for the harms Indigenous peoples have faced historically and currently face in health care. You can find CFNU’s apology in full, to read or to view, at reconciliation.nursesunions.ca.
Indigenous people…deserve to feel safe in our care and to trust that nurses are effective advocates for them.
Indigenous people deserve the very best care possible. They deserve to feel safe in our care and to trust that nurses are effective advocates for them. Too often, this has not been the case. Acknowledging this truth with humility and a willingness to learn more lays the foundation for a path towards meaningful reconciliation.
As allies, reconciliation means action. At the 22nd Biennial Convention in June [co-hosted by ONA], CFNU members [including ONA members] passed a resolution committing the organization to concrete efforts to address racism against Indigenous patients in the health-care system.
There wasn’t a dry eye in the house when the CFNU issued a formal apology to Indigenous peoples for harms they have faced and continue to face in health care at their Biennial Convention, co-hosted by ONA, in June 2025.
Since then, we have been integrating equity and Indigenous health rights into all our advocacy, and we have been hard at work on a plan of action to make good on our commitment to reconciliation. I look forward to sharing this plan with you in the coming months.
I ask that you join me on this journey, so we can walk the path of reconciliation together.
Watch CFNU’s webinar with teacher and author Rose LeMay, who led this live learning event for nurses to have the historical knowledge necessary for reconciliation.
Commit to learning how you can act on reconciliation. CFNU’s report Beyond Equity is a good place to start learning more about how to confront the colonial health legacy and what actionable strategies exist to combat anti-Indigenous racism in health care.
And remember, reconciliation does not end on National Day of Truth and Reconciliation [each September 30]. We carry it forward, together, in our words and our actions each and every day.
The CFNU is Canada’s largest nurses’ organization, representing 250,000 front-line unionized nurses and nursing students in every sector of health care and advocating on key priorities to strengthen public health care across the country.
ONA is a member of the CFNU and is a part of all the decision-making and work of our national nursing union movement.
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