Minutes - Thursday, June 5, 2003 at 11:00 a.m.

S. Ireland, Chair
J. Attwood
C. Beemer
M. Bestwick
D. Barber
D. Bishop
S. Burnell-Jones
K. Campbell
C. Charlton
F. Cole
A. Cunningham
D. Dietrich

R. Fife
D. Fox
R. Graham
E. Greenwood
L. Hall
B. Hill
E. Howe
K. Kay
S. Keating
V. Kerr
R. Kitson
L. Lillie

M. McGinn
M. A. Murray
D. Norling
S. Richardson
R. Rupert
J. Sanger
A. Taylor
M. Ternovan
D. Trouten
B. Weichel
S. Young

I. Bajnok
K. Cook

G. Hayward

B. Noble

A. Coghlan
J. Hofbauer, Recorder

C. Campbell
H. Crawford

P. Reinhart
G. Siskind

CHAIR

D. Dietrich, chair of the Nominating Committee, chaired Council for the election of officers.

NOMINATIONS

D. Dietrich announced the nominations received to date, as follows:

President:

Sandra Ireland
Sandra Keating

Vice-President, RN

Sue Burnell-Jones
Ruth Kitson

Vice-President, RPN:

Deanne Barber
Dawn Norling

Nominations from the floor were requested. There being none, a motion to close nominations was requested.

Motion 1

Moved by M. Ternovan, seconded by A. Taylor,

That nominations be closed.

CARRIED

ELECTION OF OFFICERS

A secret ballot election followed. K. Lawrence, P. Howe, and J. Sanger served as scrutineers for the counting of the ballots.

D. Dietrich announced the results of the election of officers for 2003-2004:

President: Sandra Ireland
Vice-President, RN: Sue Burnell-Jones
Vice-President, RPN: Dawn Norling

BALLOTS

D. Dietrich requested a motion to destroy the ballots.

Motion 2

Moved by M. Ternovan, seconded by F. Cole,

That the ballots for the election of Council officers for 2003-2004 be destroyed.

CARRIED

CHAIR

S. Irelend chaired the remainder of the meeting.

AGENDA

The agenda was amended to include the Executive Director's update deferred from June 4th and discussion of information items distributed for the June 4th meeting. A statement or stand by the College regarding concerns related to SARS was added to the agenda.

Motion 3

Moved by A. Taylor, seconded by D. Trouten,

That the agenda be accepted as revised.

CARRIED

STATEMENTS FROM NEW OFFICERS

The newly elected officers expressed appreciation to Council for their support. S. Ireland, newly elected President, noted her commitment to collaboration and leadership and her plans to focus on team building. She asked that Council support its new Executive through the transition.

FINANCE COMMITTEE

The Executive recommends the non-Council, expert members of the Finance Committee. The Executive is recommending the reappointment of the current members.

On June 4th, Council decided to review the membership structure of the Finance Committee in October. For that reason, the recommendation limits the terms of office of the expert members to October 1, 2003.

Motion 4

Moved by R. Kitson, R. Graham,

That M. Ferguson-Paré and J. Roberts be appointed as the non-Council, expert members of the Finance Committee from June 2003 through October 1, 2003.

CARRIED

COMPENSATION SUB-COMMITTEE

The Executive recommends the members of the Sub-Committee on Compensation. S. Ireland highlighted the recommendation.

Motion 5

Moved by L. Lillie, seconded by L. Hall,

That C. Caron, M. Ferguson-Paré, and G. Yaffee be appointed as the Sub-Committee on Compensation from June 2003 through June 2004.

CARRIED

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR UPDATE

A. Coghlan highlighted the external outreach activities undertaken by CNO staff, noting the contribution of the activities to meeting CNO's strategic objectives: to build confidence in nursing self-regulation, and to excel in the development, provision and utilization of CNO knowledge.

NOMINATING COMMITTEE

D. Dietrich highlighted the report of the Nominating Committee. She noted that the goal of the Nominating Committee is the effective functioning of committees. She reviewed the process and considerations in determining the slate. She noted that the Nominating Committee enhanced the use of computer random selection to provide for a fair, open and transparent process.

Motion 6

Moved by R. Graham, seconded by A. Taylor,

That Council accept the report of the Nominating Committee, including the slate of committee appointments (attached to the minutes).

CARRIED

The Nominating Committee was congratulated on the concept of changing committee membership, as the broadened perspectives and diversity of knowledge will facilitate Council effectiveness. The sharing of opportunities provided by a planned process of change enhances the fairness of the committee assignment process. On behalf of Council, S. Ireland congratulated the Nominating Committee.

DATES

To enhance long-range planning, the Executive has recommended Council dates through December 2004.

Motion 7

Moved by M. Ternovan, seconded by M. McGinn,

That dates of Council meetings in 2004 will be:

• Wednesday and Thursday, March 10 and 11;
  
• Wednesday and Thursday, June 9 and 10;
  
• Wednesday and Thursday, September 22 and 23; and
  
• Wednesday and Thursday, December 8 and 9.

CARRIED

SARS

C. Beemer had asked that Council consider what action it might undertake to protect the public interest and support nurses working under difficult conditions due to SARS. She identified a variety of issues of concerns in practice, and stated her belief that Council should be supporting calls for a public inquiry to ascertain why the second SARS outbreak occurred and what could have been done to prevent the situation.

It was identified that nurses' ability to provide quality care to the public is at risk due to the current situation and that this impacts on public safety and well-being and needs to be addressed by Council. An inquiry provides an opportunity to review the situation related to the second outbreak of SARS within the framework of current thinking on medical error and patient safety. The findings of such an inquiry will provide a wide range of stakeholders, including nurses, with guidance in addressing similar situations in the future. It was also identified that an inquiry is important to restore the confidence of the public and health care providers in the safety and integrity of the health-care system.

A. Coghlan updated Council on CNO's activities in relation to SARS. She reviewed CNO's position that patient abandonment does not occur until a patient assignment is accepted. She noted that CNO updates the website regularly to provide up-to-date information on SARS to membership and the public. CNO has been involved in a number of forums and has provided consultation support to nurses. CNO has been consulting regularly with nursing professional associations and unions, other professions, government and health care providers.

There was considerable discussion about the appropriateness of Council passing a motion without due notice and background information. The By-Laws provide a mechanism for Council members to add motions to Council agendas in advance and establish notice requirements. This is in order to ensure all members have advance notice of the decisions to be made at a meeting and that Council has the information needed to make an informed decision. Council, by show of hands, agreed to set aside the requirement for notice due to the extreme urgency of the situation.

Motion 8

Moved by C. Beemer, seconded by A. Taylor,

That, in the continuing absence of concrete information regarding the terms of reference of the public review process promised by the Premier, and in view of the potential danger to its members and the public posed by inadequate knowledge and inaction, CNO supports any calls for immediate construction of a public inquiry or such similar agency as can subpoena testimony relevant to the second outbreak of SARS sufficient to provide the answers needed to ensure the safety of its members and of the public in the event of subsequent outbreaks.

There was considerable discussion about the motion and whether it was sufficiently clear as to the intention. A number of members expressed concern about the reference to a public "inquiry".

Amendment to Motion 8

Moved by S. Richardson, seconded by V. Kerr,

That Motion 8 be amended by removing "That, in the continuing absence of concrete information regarding the terms of reference of the public review process promised by the Premier, and in view of the potential danger to its members and the public posed by inadequate knowledge and inaction" and changing the phrase "public inquiry" to "public review".

CARRIED

Amended Motion 8

The following motion was duly moved and seconded,

That CNO supports any calls for immediate construction of a public review that can subpoena testimony relevant to the second outbreak of SARS sufficient to provide the answers needed to ensure the safety of its members and the public in the event of subsequent outbreaks.

CARRIED

NEXT MEETING

The next meeting of Council will be Wednesday and Thursday, October 1 and 2, 2003.

CONCLUSION

The first meeting of the newly constituted Council concluded at 3:30 p.m.

Executive Committee

Sandra Ireland, President
Sue Burnell-Jones, Vice-President, RN Dawn Norling, Vice-President, RPN
Ellen Greenwood, Public Member
Angus Taylor, Public Member

Client Relations

Irmajean Bajnok, RN
Kien Campbell, RPN
Veronica Kerr, Public
Carol McDowell, RPN*
Brenda Noble, Public
Kimberley Storey, RN*

Complaints Committee

Antony Cunningham, Public
Rosemary Fife, RPN
David Fox, RN
Ruth Graham, Public
Terry Holland, RPN*
Shirley Kennedy, RN*
Veronica Kerr, Public
Jo-Ann Marr, RN*
Mary Ann Murray, RN
Deborah Trouten, Public

Fitness to Practise

Dre Armstrong, RN*
Irmajean Bajnok, RN
Sandra Brewer, RN*
Kien Campbell, RPN
Ruth Graham, Public
Paul Howe, RPN*
Liora Krinsky, RN*
Ann Marie Tulett, RPN*
Bill Weichel, Public
Sophie Young, Public

Quality Assurance

Kathy Cook, RPN
Fay Cole, Public
Susan Draper, RN*
Lynn Hall, RN
Barb Hood, RN(EC)*
Sandra Keating, RN
Christine Laver, RPN*
Debbie Parris, RPN*
Alan Spacek, Public
Angus Taylor, Public
Bill Weichel, Public

Discipline Committee:

Jim Attwood, RN
Deanne Barber, RPN
Marilyn Bestwick, Public
David Bishop, Public
Edmonde Brière, RN*
Liz Campbell, RN*
Michelle Capobianco, Public
Catherine Charlton, Public
Fay Cole, Public
Alison Comeau, RN*
George Fieber, RN*
Joanne Furletti, RN*
Arlene Grant, RN*
Glenda Hayward, RN
Betty Hill, Public
Kelly Kay, RPN
Ruth Kitson, RN
Margaret McGinn, RN
Lori McInerney, RN*
Anne McKenzie, RPN*
Brenda Noble, Public
Kim Pederson, RPN*
Rob Rupert, RN
Monica Seawright, RPN*
Mike Ternovan, Public
Lois Vanson, RPN*
Sophie Young, Public

Registration Committee

Cheryl Beemer, RN
Marilyn Bestwick, Public
Antony Cunningham, Public
Denise Dietrich, RPN
Brian Etmanski, RPN*
Betty Hill, Public
Eric Howe, Public
Marilyn Lambert, RN*
Sheila Richardson, RN

Finance Committee

Sandra Ireland, President
Sue Burnell-Jones, Vice President, RN
Dawn Norling, Vice President, RPN
Mary Ann Murray, RN
Kathy Cook, RPN
Deborah Trouten, Public

Non-Voting Interim Additional Public Member:

Eric Howe

Non-Council expert members - reference motion 4 on page 3