RNAO’s ongoing media profile: Your April 2026 report

In April, RNAO CEO Dr. Doris Grinspun spoke with media about London Health Sciences Centre’s plan to remove 200 RN positions through attrition and retirement. In a media statement, Grinspun said that “the move to eliminate RN positions is an assault on patients whose care will experience the effects of this decision.” RNAO President NP Lhamo Dolkar said in the same media statement that “now is not the time to find cost efficiencies by further diluting your nursing workforce of RN expertise.” On CTV News (April 1), Grinspun said that “the reality is that at the end of the day, it’s patients who will pay for the ill-conceived decision.” She was also interviewed about an issue at Tillsonburg District Memorial Hospital, which is cutting 27 personal service worker (PSW) positions. “Patients in every hospital across this province are becoming more complex. What you want at the end of the day is safe care. PSWs provide exceptional care, but when you need medication and wound care, that requires the skill of a nurse,” Grinspun explained on CBC Radio (April 16).  

Across Canada, violence in hospitals has increased. Grinspun says this is “dramatic and tragic but sadly not new” (City News, April 13). She says the government needs to do more to reduce stress and ensure that people with substance use disorders can get the help they need. Hospitals also need to manage the fallout by controlling access. “They need to train staff for trauma-informed de-escalation and a flagging system for high-risk patients and visitors,” explains Grinspun. 

In an op-ed published in The Hamilton Spectator (April 23), Grinspun and co-author Syed Hussan, a spokesperson for the Migrant Rights Network, highlighted the importance of temporary foreign workers in health care. “Migrants are the backbone of support roles, comprising 30 per cent of nurse aides, orderlies, and patient service associates – roles that already see more people retiring than entering.” They say migrants sustain our essential social infrastructure and should not be blamed for pressure on public services. “Canada needs a better answer: permanent residence for all migrant care workers across home care, childcare, long-term care, hospitals, and other settings.” 

On April 22, RNAO took part in an Earth Day media conference with environmental partners, policy experts, an Indigenous leader, and a youth advocate to urge the Ontario government to reinstate a science-based, accountable climate plan. In a media release (April 22), Grinspun said that “nurses know that climate policy is, at its core, health policy – it is about preventing illness, protecting communities, and reducing pressure on an already strained health system.” Many people don’t make the connection between climate change or fossil fuels and their impact on health. “When more pipelines get built, or we will not put an end to fossil fuels, we don’t say what the consequences will be, in human life, in disease, in death and in debt. We are already paying for it,” said Grinspun (The Narwhal, April 23). In YourThunderBay (April 22), she explained that “nurses see seniors arriving with heat strokes from an overheated apartment, in Indigenous communities displaced by wildfires or flooding, many of whom will work directly on other evidence-based practices, in increasing respiratory and cardiovascular emergency visits, asthma attacks, and other acute symptoms caused by wildfire smoke and elevated fine particulate matter.” Grinspun also wrote an op-ed (The Hill Times, April 20) about the need for the federal government to be at the table for an international conference aimed at a transition away from fossil fuels. “Canada should not be absent from this search for pathways toward a more secure and healthy, low-carbon future.” 

If you’re interested in speaking with reporters on issues related to nursing, health, and health care, please complete a short survey. We would be happy to add you to our database of nurses willing to be interviewed.