2026-04-29 from businesswire.com

On the National Day of Mourning, CUPE hospital and long-term care workers called for action from the provincial and federal governments to protect them from violence, which has worsened since the pandemic.

“Canada’s high tolerance of violence against women soaks inevitably into our institutions, like hospitals and long-term care facilities”, said Sharon Richer, secretary-treasurer of the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions-CUPE. “Combine this with the serious understaffing that fuels anger towards staff, and this workforce is vulnerable and victimized. Staff have been killed, some have been assaulted such that they will never work again, thousands are physically and sexually assaulted every year. This makes for an unsafe and toxic working environment.”

Ontario cut hospital funding by two per cent in real terms in 2025 and plans cuts of more than two per cent in 2026. CUPE is calling on the provincial government to fund hospitals at their real costs and to make investments in adding staff and beds, to reduce waiting times. 

Read more here