TORONTO, ON, December 9, 2025 – At a media conference this morning at Queen’s Park, the Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA) published an open letter from patients at North York Family Health Team (NYFHT) calling on the Board of Directors to ensure fair wages and an end to an eight-week strike of nurses and health-care professionals, citing impacts on their primary care.

“Despite receiving its share of more than $200 million in new funding intended for wage increases to retain and recruit primary care workers, the NYFHT diverted its share to in part to repay debt,” says ONA Provincial President Erin Ariss, RN. “ONA is calling this a crisis of accountability, because neither the employer nor the government is ensuring that the money is being spent as intended and 95,000 patients have been without crucial primary care. This includes a range of care, including vaccinations, cancer survivorship care and wound care. Our members want to get back to providing care, but they cannot do that without their first collective agreement that includes fair wages. When these workers are already struggling to make ends meet, a zero percent wage increase is a wage cut.”

Since the strike began, ONA members, patients and allies have contacted government officials, Chair of the Primary Care Action Team Dr. Jane Philpott’s office, and the NYFHT Board more than 2,000 times, with no clear response. Both this government and the health team board are shirking all responsibility.

“We are calling on the employer to immediately get back to the table and negotiate a fair first collective agreement – including wage increases. We are also calling on Premier Doug Ford and Health Minister Sylvia Jones to take action to ensure funding is used appropriately, especially in light of the Auditor General’s new report regarding a lack of primary care fiscal accountability,” says Ariss.

Bargaining Unit President for the striking workers and pharmacist Rita Ha adds that, “Our patients are sending messages to this government to take responsibility and act now. Public funding should be going where it’s meant to go. Premier Ford and Health Minister Sylvia Jones must ensure accountability and get the NYFHT board back to the bargaining table immediately.”

ONA is the union representing 68,000 registered nurses and health-care professionals, as well as 18,000 nursing student affiliates, providing care in hospitals, long-term care facilities, public health, the community, clinics and industry.

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