MPPs join calls for wage parity for nurse practitioners in Ontario
Two Sudbury politicians joined a small group of health-care professionals Wednesday morning to call for increased government support for nurse practitioners (NPs).
The news conference was outside the Sudbury Nurse Practitioners clinic on Larch Street, downtown.
The news conference was held Wednesday outside the Sudbury Nurse Practitioners clinic on Larch Street, downtown. (Angela Gemmill/CTV News)
Sudbury MPP Jamie West and Nickel Belt MPP France Gelinas were flanked by a dozen nurse practitioners and other members of local primary health teams.
The group wants NPs to be paid similarly to counterparts providing the same highly skilled work.
Some primary care teams said the wage disparity has led to recruitment and retention problems since some are leaving the profession in search of better pay.
"If we can offer equitable pay, there's more chances of not only recruiting professionals but retaining our professionals," said Nicolle Plante-Dupuis, executive director of Univi Community Health Centre.
"We have many primary care providers who have been with us for over 10 years. We don't want to lose them to another area where they can make more money."
Univi Community Health Centre has four sites serving 4,200 patients in the French River, St. Charles and Markstay-Warren.
Plante-Dupuis said the centre has been without a social worker for 15 months. She said despite searching for a successful candidate, the centre couldn't compete with wages offered elsewhere.
That job vacancy issue within health-care institutions can lead to other issues like overcrowding in hospitals and longer wait times.
West said 'orphaned' patients -- those without primary care providers -- tend to go to hospital emergency departments for care when they don’t have an emergency.
"Primary care providers, including nurse-practitioner-led clinics and family health teams, help relieve the burden on our hospitals," he said.
Nurse practitioners have been advocating for higher pay for at least a decade.
- Download the CTV News app now
- Get local breaking news alerts
- Daily newsletter with the top local stories emailed to your inbox
"It’s not like this current government, or the previous Liberal government, didn’t know about this. They’ve just been ignoring it," West said.
"That's why we're having the press conference, to raise the awareness with the public that there are solutions out there that the current government is ignoring. What we want out of this is, really, for the Conservative government to recognize that there are solutions standing and staring them in the face."
Recently, 10 provincial associations launched the 'For Us. For You,' campaign highlighting the need for urgent investments in Ontario’s community health sector.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Donald Trump picks former U.S. congressman Pete Hoekstra as ambassador to Canada
U.S. president-elect Donald Trump has nominated former diplomat and U.S. congressman Pete Hoekstra to be the American ambassador to Canada.
Genetic evidence backs up COVID-19 origin theory that pandemic started in seafood market
A group of researchers say they have more evidence to suggest the COVID-19 pandemic started in a Chinese seafood market where it spread from infected animals to humans. The evidence is laid out in a recent study published in Cell, a scientific journal, nearly five years after the first known COVID-19 outbreak.
This is how much money you need to make to buy a house in Canada's largest cities
The average salary needed to buy a home keeps inching down in cities across Canada, according to the latest data.
'My two daughters were sleeping': London Ont. family in shock after their home riddled with gunfire
A London father and son they’re shocked and confused after their home was riddled with bullets while young children were sleeping inside.
Smuggler arrested with 300 tarantulas strapped to his body
Police in Peru have arrested a man caught trying to leave the country with 320 tarantulas, 110 centipedes and nine bullet ants strapped to his body.
Boissonnault out of cabinet to 'focus on clearing the allegations,' Trudeau announces
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced embattled minister Randy Boissonnault is out of cabinet.
Baby dies after being reported missing in midtown Toronto: police
A four-month-old baby is dead after what Toronto police are calling a “suspicious incident” at a Toronto Community Housing building in the city’s midtown area on Wednesday afternoon.
Sask. woman who refused to provide breath sample did not break the law, court finds
A Saskatchewan woman who refused to provide a breath sample after being stopped by police in Regina did not break the law – as the officer's request was deemed not lawful given the circumstances.
Parole board reverses decision and will allow families of Paul Bernardo's victims to attend upcoming parole hearing in person
The families of the victims of Paul Bernardo will be allowed to attend the serial killer’s upcoming parole hearing in person, the Parole Board of Canada (PBC) says.