P. 33 LAST CHANCE TOFRONT WIN $100! LINES We Know How it Feels: Past and present members of ONA’s Human Rights and Equity Team discuss their struggles and hopes, and why they want to ensure no one is left out Stop the Bills: Members Protest Harmful Legislation P. 6 ONTARIO NURSES’ ASSOCIATION VOL. 20 • NO. 3 | FALL 2020 85 Grenville St., Ste. 400 - Toronto ON M5S 3A2 2 P. 16 P. 28 BOARD OF DIRECTORS VICKI MCKENNA, RN CONTENTS EDITOR: Ruth Featherstone President, VM #2314 Communications and | FEATURES EDITOR: Government Relations/ ONA Mail 3 Melanie Levenson Student Liaison | CONTACT: President/First VP Messages 4, 5, 32 CATHRYN HOY, RN The Front Lines editor at First VP, VM #7755 Members Get Loud! | 6 [email protected]. Political Action and Professional Issues CONTRIBUTORS: Know Your Rights | 16 Etana Cain, Emily Holland, LEAP Team Queen’s Park Update | 20 DAWN ARMSTRONG, RN VP Region 1, VM #7706 ONA PROVINCIAL OFFICE Human Rights and Equity We Know How it Feels: Past and present members 85 Grenville St., Ste. 400 of ONA’s Human Rights and Equity Team discuss Toronto ON M5S 3A2 their struggles and hopes, and why they want to TEL: (416) 964-8833 TOLL FREE: 1-800-387-5580 BERNADETTE ROBINSON, RN ensure no one is left out | 22 FAX: (416) 964-8864 VP Region 2, VM #7756 Education EMAIL: [email protected] ONA is the union representing 68,000 registered nurses and DJ SANDERSON, RN health-care professionals and VP Region 3, VM #7704 more than 18,000 nursing student Labour Relations affiliates providing care in hospitals, long-term care facilities, public health, the community, clinics and industry. ANGELA PREOCANIN, RN VP Region 4, VM #7707 COPYRIGHT © 2020 Occupational Health and Ontario Nurses’ Association Safety All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by KAREN BERTRAND, RN any means, including electronic, VP Region 5, VM #7702 Local Finance Nursing News | 26 mechanical, photocopy, recording, or by any information storage or Health and Safety | 31 retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher Condensed Financial Statements | 34 (ONA members are excepted). BEVERLY MATHERS Chief Executive Officer ISSN: 0834-9088 www.Facebook.com/OntarioNurses www.Instagram.com/Ontario.Nurses www.Twitter.com/OntarioNurses DESIGN: Artifact graphic design www.Youtube.com/OntarioNurses PRINTED BY UNION LABOUR: Thistle Printing ona.org FRONTLINES • FALL 2020 ONA.ORG ONA MAIL 3 ONA MAIL HAVE SOMETHING The Ties that Bind Communicate and TO SAY? I loved the feature section Advocate We’d love to hear from you! that accompanied the spring Thanks to ONA President Send your comments to issue of Front Lines on family ties. I Vick McKenna and the entire ONA team our Front Lines editor at wish I had submitted something as my for supporting us all during this epic [email protected]. mother, who is now 87, pandemic outbreak, which has been so To mark N ursing Week we bring you this special2020, ONA feature section celebrating nursing fam ilies within ONA. FEATURE worked as a nurse into SPRING 2020 Family Ties devastating to our communities. Keep Amy Frew, RN When you talk about nursing being “all in the family,” one just has to look at ONA member Amy Frew, RN, and the three generations of nurses and ve close nursing relatives in her family. Most have spent their entire nursing careers at their community hospital, Renfrew Victoria Hospital, ONA Local 49, in Renfrew, Ontario. Amy’s grandmother, Jean Miller, RN, her 70s, I am working who passed away in 2018 at the age up the wonderful work! of 96, worked as a nurse at Renfrew Amy’s sister Katie McLaughlin, RN, Victoria Hospital for 40 years, and is a surgical oat nurse at Kingston was a proud founding member of ONA, General Hospital, ONA Local 99. She has established in 1973. She worked in a been an ONA member for three years. variety of Cousin Ashley Miller, RN, also a nurse settings obstetrics she , but it was hospital at Renfrew Victoria, currently works in loved the most. Stand and Deliver Amy’s mom, Sue McLaughlin, RN, is the ER and has worked in the special an emergency room nurse at Renfrew care and medical/surgical units. She has Victoria. In her 41 years as a nurse and been an ONA member for eight years. Three generations of nurses: Amy, mom Sue as a nurse, and my son ONA member, McLaughlin has worked Amy’s aunt, Linda Horne and sister Katie. I love receiving your frequent in intensive care, chronic care, and spent most of her nursing career, RN (Ret.), medical/sur working in British Columbia and Alberta. gical units, and also This br oat nurse. as a ings us to Am forth — when appropri member of 15 years andy herself,an ER nurse an ONA the experience of beingate valued — the and at Renfrew Victoria. Frew says one y share I am not a nurse, but work of the reasons she went into nursing important to pat ients at their most was because she saw the love and vulnerable. respect people had for her mother and When Amy’s grandmother Jean grandmother, and was deeply touched was admitted to the same hospital she is in nursing school at by what they could do for people who worked at for 40 years, Renfrew Victoria, updates, and because of this, I made were at th Amy and her sister Katie and cousin eir most vulne Ashley ralli “The most rewarding thingrable. about ed around to provide extra nursing is having the opportunity to support for her. impact someone’s life. With all our “There was always a beautiful professional skills as nurses, I still nd connection with her; we all credit grandma for a lot of decisions we made in a hospital as a therapy the best part of it is giving a hug and support when someone is overwhelmed in our lives — including our choice of or has had a loss,” she says. careers! Being able to share those last Amy says the reason there are so moments was such an honour.” many nurses in her family is that they Amy says that both her mom and McMaster University. grandmother were honest about the pros great strides in our department in all have the common trait of wanting to care for others, and nd a “beautiful and cons of nursing, including shiftwork and missing family get-togethers. Aside Amy Frew’s grandmother Jean as a balance of common sense and skill.” nursing student in 1943. Amy works periodically with her from the rewards of nursing, one of the mom Sue in their rural ER, and while bene ts in having close family in the profession is that they all understand assistant. The communications, PPE there can be a lot of teasing back and the challenges and are forgiving of the It was a very nice occasional missed family event. making sure we get appropriate supplies, and staff safety throughout feature for Nursing Week. fit-tested masks and personal the pandemic have been a disaster. JANE PENCINER, RN protective equipment (PPE), and have We non-nursing staff have gone Editor’s Note: Don’t worry, Jane, we’d love to encouraged my coworkers to not let to our managers with our safety tell your family ties story in a future issue of their guards down. I have also been concerns with little to no response. Front Lines too! posting your updates. Your union fought for your nurses, DELVIES DANIEL, RN and your nurses, with your support, I wanted to send a note to stood their ground and wore masks say how much I enjoyed the Thank you for your thorough when we were told not to. Because of “Family Ties” insert in the updates on COVID-19. this, management finally gave in and spring magazine. It was particularly I pray every day for the allowed us all to wear masks. nice to see Liz Romano, our rep at safety of our members and the clients I want you to know that Toronto General Hospital (and Local 97 we serve. ONA is doing such a fabulous everything your union is fighting for Coordinator). I have been a nurse there job of advocating for us all. is also for non-nursing staff. So, from for 32 years. MARIANNE BLAIS, RN all of us, thank you ONA! Thanks again. Name withheld by Front Lines MARILENA RUTKA, RN Events and Observances The following are key happenings and commemorative E November 11: Remembrance Day dates until the next issue, which we are acknowledging E November: National Nursing Students’ Week and/or celebrating provincially (and you can do so locally). (date to be confirmed) Please note that due to COVID-19, these events may be E November: National Indigenous Nursing Students’ Day cancelled or held in different ways. (date to be confirmed) E November 3: Human Rights and Equity Caucus (Zoom) E December 1: World AIDS Day E November 4-5: Provincial Coordinators Meeting E December 3: International Day of Persons with Disabilities (PCM) (Zoom) E December 6: National Day of Remembrance and Action E November 6 (half-day): PCM Education Session (Zoom) on Violence Against Women E November 8-14: National Nurse Practitioner Week E December 10: Human Rights Day Medical Radiation Technologists Week Check ona.org for more information ONA.ORG FALL 2020 • FRONTLINES 4 From ONA President Chronique de la présidente, AIIO VICKI MCKENNA, RN We Can – and Must – do Better in are concerned about residents’ well-being, and 75 per cent Long-Term Care believe employers and the government could have done more to keep residents safe from COVID-19.