Thank you for the opportunity to appear before the committee to address dementia in Canada. Today I am here representing the Canadian Gerontological Nursing Association and the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario. The Canadian Gerontological Nursing Association (CGNA) is the national organization representing gerontological nurses and promotes gerontological nursing practice across national and international boundaries. The Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO) is the professional association representing registered nurses (RN), nurse practitioners (NP) and nursing students in Ontario.

Good afternoon. My name is Dr. Doris Grinspun and I am Chief Executive Officer of the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario, or as it is best known: RNAO.

We thank you for the opportunity to be here today, representing Ontario’s registered nurses, nurse practitioners, and nursing students to speak in staunch support of supervised injection services (SIS). This issue is tremendously important to us as health professionals, community members, family members, and friends of loved ones whose lives have been lost or are at risk because of substance use and addiction. Implementing SIS is a pragmatic and evidence-based policy that will improve health outcomes, prevent needless deaths, and contribute to safer communities.

Good Afternoon:

My name is Doris Grinspun and I am the CEO of the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO), the professional association representing registered nurses, nurse practitioners and nursing students in Ontario. Joining me today is Kim Jarvi, RNAO's senior economist.

Good Morning:

I am Deborah Kane and I’m here representing the Board of Directors of the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO). We are the professional association representing registered nurses, nurse practitioners and nursing students in Ontario. The region that I represent includes Windsor-Essex, Chatham-Kent and the Lambton area. I thank you for the opportunity to offer RNAO’s recommendations on two important issues facing RNs: The first is to mandate that employers stop replacing RNs with less qualified providers and the second is to expand the scope of practice of RNs by moving forward with independent RN prescribing.