NDP supports the fight for nursing ratios

France Gélinas, Nickel Belt Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) and long-time health critic for the Ontario NDP, the Official Opposition, showed her party’s continued support for nurses and health-care professionals at a recent press conference when she reintroduced a bill to implement nurse-to-patient staffing ratios in hospitals. The bill had been introduced and voted down in 2024 but, like us, Gélinas isn't afraid of a fight and brought it forward again. 

Gélinas was joined by Erin Ariss, ONA Provincial President, Jamie West, MPP for Sudbury and NDP labour critic, Angela Hodgson, President of CUPE 1974, and Dianne Martin, CEO of WeRPN.   

A Critical Health and Safety Issue 

At its heart, staffing ratios are about safety for both the nurse and the patient. We know that staffing levels have been at a crisis point for years, jeopardizing nurse and patient safety, not to mention the negative effects on nurse mental health and moral distress.  

Staffing ratios have been proven to reduce the rampant violence nurses face on the job. More and more health-care leaders agree that nurse-to-patient ratios are necessary, and Gélinas and the NDP are a key part of the fight. 

This is not a new idea. Male-dominated professions like policing and firefighting have won staffing ratios for the exact same health and safety reasons we are fighting for them now. What could the difference between those professions and ours be? Like hospital nurses, they are funded by the government, are essential service workers, and experience high rates of workplace violence and injury. With all these similarities, there is no reasonable excuse that nurses should not receive the same protection provided by ratios that police and firefighters have.  

Nurse-to-patient ratios are a time-tested solution to many issues. In British Columbia staffing ratios are being implemented to alleviate and prevent burnout, improve retention and recruitment, and even bring back nurses who have left the profession.  

The current bill would set the maximum number of patients a nurse will be expected to care for based on the patient’s acuity and need, including a patient-to-nurse ratio of 1-to-1 for critical care patients on ventilators, and a patient-to-nurse ratio of 3-to-1 for specialized care. These ratios would keep patients and nurses safe while ensuring high quality care. 

Staffing without ratios 

The staffing crisis is only getting worse. In 2024, 8,000 nurses left the sector, more than any year during the pandemic. Enacting this bill would bring hope to nurses and health-care professionals dealing with impossible workloads and unsafe staffing conditions, and help us provide timely, high-quality care to patients. 

We know that Ontario has had the lowest number of registered nurses per capita in Canada for years. Nurses and health-care professionals are understaffed every single shift, sometimes working 16- and 20-hour shifts because there is no one available to take over. We see emergency departments closing because they don’t have enough nurses to staff them. We know that intensive care nurses are often asked to care for up to five patients at once.  

We’re asked to do an impossible, unsustainable job. It's not fair to patients and our loved ones. And none of this is new. 

The difference a ratio makes 

Safe staffing saves lives. We know this based on clear evidence. That’s why it was the cornerstone of our negotiations with the Ontario Hospital Association during the current round of bargaining. 

Safe staffing improves patient outcomes, reduces the length of stay, lowers public costs, creates manageable workloads, reduces burnout, and ensures patients receive the high-quality care they deserve. Most importantly, staffing ratios keep nurses and health-care professionals safer on the job.  

In other words: there is no reason not to implement staffing ratios.  

The challenge is to make that idea clear to those with the power to make ratios a reality. We’re not giving up the fight. Are you with us?