To all the nurses working at the bedside, thank you again for the tremendous work you're doing to keep Ontarians safe! In case you missed it, we're continuing to advocate to government to ensure you have the equipment and supplies to protect yourself while you continue to deliver care to Ontarians who need it. Read our open letter.
Recruitment of Nurses Thank you to the over 1,200 nurses who have signed up to support additional COVID-19 response efforts!!! We are truly inspired by your commitment. Over the coming week, we will be continuing to collect names of nurses interested in supporting this work so we have a robust roster available to support increased demand for care in
the near future. If you haven't gotten a chance and are interested in offering additional support, please complete this survey
College of Nurses Guidance during COVID-19 The College of Nurses of Ontario has recently posted a new FAQ regarding Re-Instatement for Nurses in response to COVID-19. If you are currently retired or non-practicing and
interested in re-instatement, please refer to this document for direction.
They have also provided guidance with regards to the accountabilities of nurses providing care to a patient diagnosed or suspected of having COVID-19.
We also saw the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada issue a committee opinion regarding COVID-19 during pregnancy
Today, the Minister of Health announced that as part of the government's health transformation, the Ontario Telemedicine Network (OTN) would be transferred to Ontario Health beginning April 1, 2020.
In a press conference this afternoon, Ontario Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr David Williams, highlighted that Ontario would be focussed on ramping up capacity for lab testing with the goal of completing 5000 COVID-19 tests per day in the coming week (currently they are testing about 1000 per day).
We also saw the Federal government announce a $82- billion aid package that involves $27 billion in direct support to individual Canadians and business and $55 billion in tax payment deferrals. This packages includes the following measures:
Waive the waiting period and medical certificate requirements to claim EI benefits, effective March 15
Introduce the Emergency Care Benefit which will provide payments on par with EI benefits for workers who do not qualify for EI sickness benefits such as
those who are self-employed or taking care of a family member and children
Establish a $5 billion Emergency Support Benefit that will support Canadians who are not eligible for EI and who lose their jobs or face reduced work hours due to COVID-19’s impact
Roll-out the EI Work Sharing Program that expands eligibility for EI benefits to workers who voluntarily reduce their working hours
Provide an additional one-time and then double maximum payments for those low-income families who receive the Goods and Services Tax credit
Increase the maximum Canada Child Benefit payment by an extra $300 per child
Establishing a $305 million Indigenous Community Support Fund for First Nations, Inuit and Métis Nation communities
Apply a six-month freeze on Canada Student Loan repayments, interest free
Reduce Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIFs) minimums by 25%
Provide a $157.5 million top-up to the Reaching Home initiative which supports those experiencing homelessness and up to $50 million to women’s
shelters
We will continue to monitor this situation and keep you updated as more information becomes available. Thank you for the important work that you're doing and the sacrifices you're making to keep Ontarians safe. We appreciate everything that you're doing each and every day.
Should you have any questions or concerns, please contact Tiff Blair at tblair@werpn.com
Sincerely,
WeRPN Team
WeRPN 5025 Orbitor Drive Building 5, Suite 200 Mississauga, Ontario L4W 4Y5
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