MEDIA ADVISORY – Nurses and Health-care Professionals Rally Outside St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton to Demand Care, Not Cuts

HAMILTON, ON, June 24, 2026 /CNW/ – More than 150 Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA) members will rally outside St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton (SJHH) to draw attention to ongoing nurse and health-care position cuts across the province.

Since January 2025, more than 1,268 nurse and health-care professional positions have been cut across the province, with 33 cuts made specifically at SJHH. Cuts result in longer hospital wait times, worse health outcomes because of delayed or missed care and heavier workloads for the remaining nurses and health-care professionals.

ONA members are rallying to demand safe staffing, including nurse-to-patient ratios, transparency around funding used to preserve frontline care and an end to health-care privatization. Better staffing has been proven to ensure stability for workers, improve patient care, and strengthen recruitment and retention across our public health-care system.

ONA is the union representing 68,000 health-care professionals, along with 18,000 nursing student affiliates, who provide care in hospitals, long-term care facilities, public health, community settings, clinics, and industry.

SOURCE Ontario Nurses’ Association