QUEEN’S PARK – Today, Dr. Adil Shamji, Member of Provincial Parliament for Don Valley East, unveiled a novel solution for Ontario’s health human resource crisis: the Health Care HEROES Act.

Ontarians know that when they visit a hospital, receive care at home, or call 911, it isn’t the building or the equipment that saves lives – it’s the people who show up. It’s the staff in our hospitals, the workers helping patients at home, and the professionals responding to emergencies that make the system function.

Health care workers show up every day to deliver high-quality care while working under immense pressure and making significant personal sacrifices. Many are being crushed under the weight of unsafe working conditions, stagnating wages, chronic understaffing, burnout and moral injury. These factors have caused unacceptable levels of attrition and have a direct impact on worsening hallway health care, increased risk of errors, and excruciating delays for surgeries and tests.

Doug Ford’s only solution has been to talk about recruiting health care workers without any consideration for the factors that are driving so many out of their life’s work. In many cases, he has stubbornly refused to take necessary action, such as completing retroactive payments for Bill 124.

It’s time to treat health care workers the way they deserve as heroes. If passed, the Health Care HEROES Act prescribes a comprehensive strategy to celebrate, support, and retain the people who keep our system running. The strategy includes measures such as the following:

1.New provincial honours to recognize long service and meritorious conduct

2.Red tape reduction measures to streamline institutional credentialling, orientation, etc.

3.Resolution of Bill 124 issues including outstanding retroactive payments and a formal apology

4.Data collection on job satisfaction, safety, burnout, and attrition to guide further efforts

5.Fairness and compensation measures to protect collective bargaining rights, work towards wage parity in different health care sectors, and allow free parking in health care settings

6.Health and well-being initiatives such as expanded WSIB presumptive coverage, crisis lines, and studies of the lasting impact on health care workers of COVID-19

7.Safety initiatives such as increased environmental standards and protection against violence

Ontario’s health care system will not succeed unless the people who hold it together are supported and respected. It’s time to care for the people who care for us.