Your March 2026 media report
During the month of March RNAO President NP Lhamo Dolkar wrote a letter to the editor (The Globe and Mail, March 5) in response to calls from the federal Conservative party to restrict temporary health coverage for asylum claimants. “Nurses know refugees are not the cause of surgical backlogs, emergency room closures or nursing shortages. Suggesting otherwise vilifies vulnerable people who arrive in Canada seeking safety, not special treatment.”
RNAO CEO Dr. Doris Grinspun was interviewed about the federal government’s mandate that provinces ensure all medically necessary care provided by nurse practitioners is publicly funded. The government set a deadline for April 1, 2026 and will begin penalizing for noncompliance in April 2027. Grinspun told the Ottawa Citizen (March 20) that while Ontario has a year to transition to this model, it should not wait that long. “It needs to happen one way or another. There should be no fees for service, period,” she explains. Grinspun also wrote a letter to the editor (The Hill Times, March 23) on the issue and says that “RNAO is eager and ready to work with the Ontario government to get our plan in place.”
On March 16, the Ontario government announced that it would end funding for the remaining supervised consumption services (SCS) sites in Ontario as of June 13. This closure would affect sites in Toronto, Ottawa, London, Kingston, Peterborough and St. Catharines. Grinspun told London Free Press (March 24) that “closing safe consumption sites will not eliminate substance use because not everybody is ready for treatment. This is an ideological move that will cost lives and will cause more unsafe communities, not less.”
The article also referenced a letter to the editor (London Free Press, March 21), where Grinspun said the move was a “callous decision that leaves vulnerable people to fend for themselves.” Similar letters were also published in the Peterborough Examiner and St. Catharines Standard. Make your voice heard and sign RNAO’s Action Alert calling on Premier Ford to reverse this decision.
The provincial government released its 2026 budget on March 26. In a media release Dolkar said that nurses are delighted with the funding boost to $3.4 billion for primary care. “These investments will make it easier for people to receive more coordinated and timely access to health services and address the growing incidence of chronic disease. On Windsor radio station AM800 (March 26), Grinspun said that the increased funding for home care is welcome, however competitive compensation for nurses in this sector is necessary. “Nurses who work in home care make 70 per cent of what their counterparts in hospitals earn. I do hope the flexibility is there for home care agencies to use the budget to improve the compensation,” she explained. Dolkar spoke with host Kyle Horner on another AM800 show (March 27) and said that funding for primary care is vital and that we already have the tools to help the ongoing issues with lack of access to a primary care provider. “Nurse practitioners are a solution that are ready for us,” Dolkar said. Grinspun also appeared on London radio station 980 CFPL (March 27), adding that “We never will have enough family doctors so nurse practitioners are key.” We encourage you to read RNAO’s comprehensive response to the budget.
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