Posts published in February 2026

Health care workers represented by CUPE’s Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU-CUPE) held a rally outside local Ontario PC MPP David Piccini’s office today in response to funding cuts by the provincial government.

The government recently directed the hospitals to plan for a two per cent annual increase in funding in each of the next three years, well short of the six per cent per year increase in costs, precipitating cuts in hospitals in almost every community.

At least 1,000 jobs are being cut in hospitals in North Bay, Hamilton, Ottawa, Niagara and the GTA, as the Ontario Hospital Association warns of “no easy choices” in the wake of the billion dollar province-wide deficit.

“It’s inexcusable to cut funding while 73,000 patients are waiting longer than clinically recommended for their surgeries and 2,000 are languishing on hallway stretchers,” said Michael Hurley, president of CUPE’s Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU-CUPE), which represents 45,000 health care workers. “The PC funding plan through to 2027-28 will have devastating consequences for many people needing hospital treatment in Ontario.”

The non-partisan Financial Accountability Office of Ontario projects that the government’s plan would lead to more than 9,000 nursing and PSW job cuts and nearly 2,400 hospital bed closures.

Considering that 2,000 people in Ontario receive care in hospital hallways due to insufficient bed capacity, how can the government even conceive of bed reductions? said Hurley.

CUPE recently released a new research report,  “Driven to the brink: projected cuts to intensify Ontario’s hospital crisis,” which contrasts the additional resources required to simply maintain existing service levels with the government’s planned cuts, highlighting a 4,080 staffed bed capacity shortfall in the system by 2027-28.

These problems are self-inflicted as Ontario funds and staffs its hospitals at the lowest rate across Canada, said Sharon Richer, secretary treasurer of OCHU-CUPE.

“We need a significant increase in beds and staffing levels,” he said. “We need this to clear the backlogs, end delays, and to reduce ‘hallway healthcare’ as the Ford PCs promised in their 2018 election campaign. We also need this to keep up with increasing demand pressures from a growing and aging population.”

The union is recommending the following actions by the provincial government:

• In the short term, add 6,200 staffed beds to: get patients off hallway stretchers, allow for aging and population growth and clear the backlog of people waiting for surgeries
• Increase core hospital funding by $3.2 billion to clear deficits and hire additional staff
• Fund hospitals at their real costs (6% per year) with a multi-year funding commitment.

CUPE welcomes approximately 30 new members at CBI Home Health in Regina, who have officially joined CUPE as Local 5605 following a successful organizing drive.

Workers at CBI Home Health voted in favour of joining CUPE in an electronic ballot counted on January 29, 2026. The Saskatchewan Labour Relations Board issued the certification order on February 9, 2026.

The newest CUPE members include direct support workers, community support workers, coordinators, and a team lead who provide in-home care and services to individuals in the community.

“We are pleased to welcome CBI Home Health workers as our newest CUPE members,” said Kent Peterson, president of CUPE Saskatchewan. “By organizing together, these workers have gained a strong collective voice to drive meaningful change in their workplace.”

Members of CUPE 5605 held their founding meeting on February 13 where they elected their local executive.

The Ontario government made a funding announcement today that will continue deep staff cuts, rising tuition fees and increased student debt.

“The minister was long on scapegoating, but short on funding. Ontario has the worst university funding in Canada, and he’s passing the blame for his own cuts to other levels of government, and passing more and more of the costs onto the students, who are already graduating with record debt loads,” said Fred Hahn, president of CUPE Ontario.

The funding announcement fails to catch up even with recommendations of the government’s hand-picked “Blue Ribbon Panel,” and does not make up for years of stagnant funding. In fact, today’s announcement will still leave post-secondary education $1.5 billion below what it was in 2018, once adjusted for inflation and student population.

Also concerning is the government’s ongoing pigeonholing of funding into job-specific training and not into areas that improve critical thought and advance basic research.

“It’s easy to say that funding engineering and tech job training is useful. But it ignores the reality that pure scientific research, the arts and many other fields actually drive most of the advances in our society and economy. We need proper funding for public universities and colleges, not more money funnelled into the pockets of people setting up dodgy private colleges,” said Colleen Ferrera, chair of CUPE Ontario’s university workers committee.

Per student, university funding for Ontario universities remains the lowest in Canada, by a wide margin.

With OSAP focusing more on loans than grants, it is also offloading more costs to students.

Underfunding led to widespread layoffs this year, including 50 percent of courses taught by contract instructors at some universities and a staggering announcement of a 30 percent cut to administrative staff at one university earlier this week.

In a strong show of unity, members of CUPE 2974 voted 100% in favour of strike action, delivering an overwhelming mandate in response to chronic short-staffing and unsafe working conditions at Essex-Windsor Emergency Medical Services.

The service is short roughly 50 paramedics to meet the needs of residents, a shortage that is already impacting service levels. Adequate coverage for Essex County’s roughly 400,000 residents requires 28 ambulances during the day and 22 overnight. Without enough paramedics, ambulances that are part of the service’s approved fleet are regularly left unstaffed and unable to respond, reducing coverage across the region and leaving communities vulnerable. This problem will only intensify as the population continues to grow and age.

“These conditions are not sustainable for paramedics or for patient care. These jobs are incredibly taxing, and we deal with trauma every day. We simply cannot provide critical care if we are short staffed,” said James Jovanovic, a paramedic with 17 years’ experience and president of CUPE 2974, representing roughly 320 paramedics. “When ambulances are off the road and paramedics are pushed beyond their limits, the entire community feels the impact.”

Recent independent research by the University of Windsor and the University of Toronto, examining Essex-Windsor paramedics underscores the toll of the job:

• 25% report experiencing PTSD and depression
• 28% suffer from insomnia
• 9% reported suicidal thoughts in the previous 14 days.

The EMS shortage is a province-wide challenge driven by recruitment and retention issues. In Essex-Windsor, according to the service’s own data, staffing levels are regularly short by more than 10 per cent. During a two-week period in September and October 2025, the service recorded 1,481 hours of shortages, accounting for more than 12 per cent of operations.

“Paramedics are burning out faster than the system can replace them,” said Jovanovic. “Basic recovery time is becoming harder to protect. Too many members are working extended shifts, excessive overtime, and high-acuity calls without the relief they need. That is not a recruitment strategy. It’s a recipe for collapse.”

“No paramedic in Ontario wants to be in this position,” Jovanovic added. “We come to work to help people, not to walk picket lines. But we see how broken this system is shift after shift, and we have no choice but to stand up for our patients, our profession, and our mental health.”

CUPE 2974 has put forward proposals focused on recruitment, retention, and burnout prevention, along with fair wages and benefits that recognize paramedics as essential first responders.

“We became paramedics because we want to serve our community,” said Jovanovic. “But compassion alone cannot sustain a system that is being allowed to deteriorate. We need action now, before this crisis deepens further.”

The parties return to the table February 23, 2026 and CUPE Local 2974 remains committed to securing a fair and responsible solution to the staffing and mental health crisis.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees is inviting qualified and motivated individuals to apply for a temporary bilingual position of Administrative Support Professional, assigned to work in the CUPE Ontario Regional Office located in Markham, Ontario. This position will be available on March 2, 2026, and the assignment is expected to continue until August 28, 2026. Applicants must be fluent in English and in French.

Apply to work for us

Under the direction of the Assistant Regional Director, the Administrative Support Professional assists with the day-to-day operation of the office and provides administrative and clerical support including, but not limited to, word processing, disseminating information, and determining priorities.

SUMMARY OF DUTIES

Applicants should have a very good knowledge of general office work and be able to perform with accuracy and minimum supervision, the following duties, among others:

• Set up, compose, type, proofread and process to completion, and where required, send for translation: correspondence, reports, collective agreements, proposals, presentations, news releases, forms, and other documents on a timely basis. Initiate follow-up where required.
• Receive, screen and direct calls, respond to general enquiries and provide general information to staff and local unions.
• Receive, process and distribute incoming mail and e-mail; review correspondence and refer to appropriate person(s), scan and forward if necessary; initiate reply as required in a timely fashion; process outgoing mail and courier deliveries according to shipping requirements.
• Perform receptionist functions such as: responding to or directing telephone inquiries to appropriate staff members; receiving and welcoming visitors, adhering to security sign-in procedures, directing visitors to appropriate staff member or location, opening and/or closing switchboard; and training other staff on these functions, as required.
• Coordinate travel and accommodation arrangements ensuring adequate timing of schedules.
• Coordinate conferences, workshops, meetings, and appointments; may include registration of participants, where required; attend meetings/conferences and take minutes as required; photocopy and compile material/documents.
• Produce and prepare materials for conferences, workshops, meetings, etc. and, where required, maintain an inventory of regular materials.
• Maintain accurate filing systems (electronic and hard copy) including archiving and disposing as required; maintain orderly and updated library reference materials and maintain records and mailing contact lists.
• Assist, where required, in the operations of the office: maintaining appropriate inventory of office supplies, material, equipment and office furniture; processing and verifying orders, monitoring office security and emergency systems, overseeing office premises (parking permits, lighting, keys), where a facility is owned by CUPE, this would include ensuring the maintenance of the building.
• Assist with office orientation for employees on office policies, procedures, and equipment.
• Create and/or maintain, update, perform searches, retrieve information, and generate reports from various databases, as necessary.
• Receive, verify, and process invoices for payment and submit cheque authorization, where required.
• Monitor petty cash expenditures, maintain adequate receipts and records for accounting purposes, and ensure that petty cash funds are replenished on a timely basis, as required.
• Disseminate information as appropriate, and where required, post most current information on website.
• Provide back-up assistance to other staff, as required.
• Perform other related duties, as assigned.
   ​

QUALIFICATIONS

• Two years related work experience, ideally in a union environment.
• Business or Community College graduate in a relevant field or an equivalent combination
  of education and experience.
• General knowledge of:
  • administrative policies and procedures;
  • CUPE political and organizational structure;
  • and understanding of trade union values and principles;
  • and understanding of diversity and inclusion principles;
  • Internet research techniques;
  • databases and data management;
  • basic accounting, bookkeeping, or business math.
• Ability to:
  • speak and write at an above average level in English and French;
  • communicate and collaborate effectively in a respectful and cooperative manner with the public, and with diverse CUPE staff, members, contractors, etc.;
  • perform basic mathematical functions;
  • work with minimal supervision;
  • maintain confidentiality;
  • meet deadlines and/or establish priorities while working in a high-pressure work setting;
  • work with a high degree of accuracy;
  • exemplify good organizational skills;
  • solve problems, identify, and correct discrepancies, and follow guidelines, where applicable;
  • keyboard/type at 50 wpm;
  • use advanced MS Office Suite and learn new software.

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT as set out in the collective agreement between CUPE and COPE Local 491.

WEEKLY SALARY RANGE:  $1,516.46 to $1,548.55 (plus 7% bilingual bonus)

Persons interested should click APPLY TO WORK FOR US, select Ontario and Administrative, follow all required steps, and submit a cover letter and résumé no later than February 26, 2026. Please mention posting #COPE2602C in the subject line of your email.

Apply to work for us

:vr/cope 491 / 6ABSEC002

CUPE is committed to fostering a representative workplace and a culture grounded in respect, diversity and inclusiveness at all levels of our organization to ensure that our workforce reflects the diverse CUPE membership and the diverse communities in which we live and serve. CUPE encourages applications from qualified members of equity-deserving groups, including women, Black and racialized people, Indigenous people, persons with disabilities, and 2SLGBTQI+ people. We will provide reasonable accommodations for candidates on any protected human rights grounds at any stage of the selection or recruitment process. Please inform us if you require accommodations by contacting us at hr@cupe.ca. (All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply. However, CUPE members and existing CUPE staff will be given priority.)