February 27, 2008	PDF format: 21 Kb

Nurses say today's federal budget confirms that the Conservative government has thrown away its opportunity to invest in programs that are vital to improving the health and well-being of Canadians.

In a joint release from the presidents of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions and provincial nursing unions from British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario, the nurses say the government is refusing to move forward on needed investments to relieve the shortage of health care providers and improve the conditions that determine the overall health of our population.

"While the Finance Minister claims his budget is ‘prudent', the truly prudent course would have been to invest in programs to address the critical shortage of health care providers in this country so that we can provide the quality of care Canadians need and deserve under public medicare," says Linda Silas, President of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions. "Unfortunately the government gave away its ability to advance these needed initiatives during the last two years through ill-advised tax cuts, and now that the economy appears to be slowing they are saying ‘the cupboard is bare.' But this was a self-inflicted problem."

While welcoming new spending on First Nations and Inuit health and mental health programs, BC Nurses' Union President Debra McPherson, points out the government has made no movement toward a national prescription drug insurance plan, improved home care for seniors or toward a new national program for needed health care infrastructure.

"Canadians have been looking to Ottawa for leadership on these issues. Prescription drugs are a major source of financial stress for thousands of Canadians, especially seniors, who can't afford the rising cost of pharmaceutical products."

Heather Smith, President of the United Nurses of Alberta, is critical that the government continues to ignore the need to invest in social housing to combat growing homelessness across the country. Nor did they take any steps to restore a national child care program.

"Good housing and safe affordable child care are critical in addressing the social determinants of health and keeping people well," she said.

Ontario Nurses' Association President Linda Haslam-Stroud says the budget has little to say about the critical shortage of nurses. "Right now we are short several thousand nurses and other health care providers across the country every day. But Ottawa seems to be saying ‘just keep on working harder with fewer people because there's no help on the way. What they don't seem to realise is that this hands-off approach to the nursing shortage will make the shortage much worse because nurses won't stay in an environment that doesn't support them."

The nurses were in Vancouver for the annual convention of the BC Nurses' Union.

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