After four years of unprecedented challenges and change, coming together in person for our 2023 Convention this past November was a special experience. Our theme, “Yes We Can”, resonated strongly because we’ve proven time and time again that we can win for healthcare workers, no matter the adversity we face.

In 2023, we won historic wage increases for our hospital members – a direct result of our victory against the Ford government and the repealing of Bill 124, a victory that happened because of our determination and collective activism.

We also put long-term care, retirement, and home and community care employers on notice through several contract action campaigns and will continue to ramp up that pressure as we head into important bargaining sessions for all sectors over the upcoming year.

You’ve also shown the courage to stand up for what you deserve, even if it meant going on strike, led by the examples set by our members at Kerry’s Place and Medavie EMS Chatham-Kent, who channelled the “Yes We Can” attitude of our paramedic leader, executive board member and good friend Chris Stolte, who we sadly lost last year.

In 2024, we must all harness that “Yes We Can” attitude, no matter if its at our workplaces, the bargaining table, Queen’s Park or Parliament Hill, because despite our wins, our fight is far from over. We have employers who continue to put profits over people, and we have an Ontario government who cares more about investing in private corporations than fixing our public healthcare system.

To achieve the results you need, it’s going to take all of us – but when we fight, we win, and I look forward to many more victories with you in the year ahead.

Time and time again, the Ford government and your employers have let you down, refusing to address low wages, unsafe working conditions and the short-staffing crisis crippling our healthcare system. As your union, we’ve always had your back at the bargaining table, but we also firmly believe a union should support its members both in and out of the workplace.

In 2023, in collaboration with our great executive board, including the late Chris Stolte, we launched the Member Assistance Program to offer support to our members dealing with issues outside of their workplace. Through this program, SEIU Healthcare members struggling with substance abuse and addiction were able to get the help they needed but couldn’t otherwise receive.

This year, we are expanding this program to offer even more support, including helping those experiencing food insecurity, domestic violence, and housing issues, providing financial wellness and income tax trainings, and offering resources to help our members through complicated legal situations.

We’re also embracing innovation through technology platforms you won’t find at any other union, upgrading your SEIU Healthcare Mobile App experience and establishing the SEIU Healthcare Training Centre, where we created WorkersFirst Healthcare to replace the need for private temp agencies in healthcare.

We’re in a critical moment for our healthcare system, and in 2024, we must double down on our efforts to mobilize around your key issues and find innovative solutions to address the ever-changing healthcare landscape. I look forward to what we will achieve together in this monumental year ahead.

As your newly elected Executive Vice-President, I am fired up and ready to go!

While I may be new to this role, I have purple blood running through my veins, having served as this great union’s Nursing Division president for almost a decade.

In 2023, we made a lot of noise and had a significant impact on Ontario’s healthcare system. I was proud to lead the Drive to $35 and Safe Staffing campaign for our nurses, achieving our target of $35 per hour for nurses in our hospitals and setting the stage for big wins in other sectors I know we can achieve in 2024.

We also engaged the public on your issues like never before through our Leadership Academy, where we educated the public in more than 30 cities across Ontario about your struggles and the threat of Doug Ford’s privatization plan, where the promise of profits to private healthcare corporations has already forced emergency room closures, increased wait times and delayed surgeries.

In 2024, we need to build on our wins and keep pushing forward. As inflation continues to rise, wages for ALL healthcare workers need to catch up and keep up. We need staff-to-patient ratios in all our sectors to ensure safe working conditions and quality care. We need more full-time healthcare jobs with benefits and retirement security to address the worst healthcare recruitment and retention crisis Ontario has ever seen.

To make this happen, we are going to be anywhere and everywhere, ensuring your voices are heard by the Ford government, your employers and the public. In order to achieve the wins you need and deserve, it’s going to take all of us, so I urge you to join us whenever, and however you can: share that social post, send that letter, attend our leadership academy, come to a rally – and involve a colleague or two while you’re at it.

I am humbled to take on this new and exciting role, and I look forward to working alongside you for a powerful and successful 2024.