Conservatives Call on Parliament to Fast-Track Bill to Protect Healthcare Workers from Assault
Ottawa, ON – Today, Dan Mazier, Conservative Shadow Minister for Health, and Todd Doherty, Conservative Shadow Minister for Addictions, called on Parliament to fast-track Bill S-233, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (assault against persons who provide health services and first responders).
The Members warned that nurses, paramedics and other healthcare workers are being attacked day after day, and this government is doing nothing to stop it. At a time when the country is in the middle of a healthcare crisis, driven in large part by too few healthcare professionals, this violence is pushing Canadians out of these professions.
“Violence isn’t in the job description,” said MP Mazier. “Nurses and paramedics have cared for us, for our families and for our communities. It’s time politicians in Ottawa cared for them too.”
According to a recent survey by the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions, six in ten nurses experienced violence on the job in the past year, while nearly half faced physical violence and almost one in five reported sexual abuse.
MP Doherty, who introduced the original version of the bill, C-321, during the 44th Parliament, and has sponsored S-233 in the House of Commons, said the proposal has already been fully studied and unanimously supported.
“It should already be law,” said MP Doherty, who first introduced the bill two years ago as C-321. “It passed unanimously in the House of Commons and was studied extensively in both chambers with no opposition. The only reason it isn’t on the books today is because the Liberals prorogued Parliament and Mark Carney called an election.”
Later today, Doherty will formally request the unanimous consent of the House of Commons to pass S-233 at all stages so it can become law before Christmas. Kimberly LeBlanc, President of the Canadian Nurses Association, and Chief Pierre Poirier, former Executive Director of the Paramedic Association of Canada, supported this timely and important move.
“The Canadian Nurses Association strongly supports Bill S-233, which would require courts to treat assaults against healthcare workers and first responders as an aggravating factor in sentencing,” Le Blanc said. “This is a concrete and necessary step towards addressing what has become an alarming – and unacceptable – rise in violence.”
“Any MP who blocks this bill or delays its passing is failing in their responsibility to our frontline healthcare workers,” Mazier concluded.
Conservatives call on all parties to support MP Doherty’s motion and protect those who work for the health and well-being of Canadians.