The College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO) is committed to advancing equity and inclusion in health care for all Ontarians.
Our multi-year Equity Strategy guides this work and helps ensure our actions are data-informed, accountable and focused on advancing meaningful change.
Our commitment to equity
CNO’s Equity Strategy, Inclusion for All: Nothing About Us, Without Us, supports our public protection purpose by helping identify and address bias and discrimination in our regulatory processes and advancing equity in health care. The Strategy also acts as a road map for the equity work the organization undertakes.
At CNO, we built our Equity Strategy around four main actions:
- Evolve: allow CNO to continue to evolve as an organization
- Educate: provide continuous learning opportunities to staff, nurses, system partners and the public
- Engage: engage with external partners so we can continue to learn and reflect on a broad range of lived experiences
- Evaluate: use an evidence-based approach to re-evaluate our priorities and measure progress
We invite you to learn more by downloading the full strategy.
Why is equity important for CNO and health care in Ontario?
CNO recognizes health outcomes are influenced by social and environmental factors, such as income, race, housing, gender, whether you live in a northern or remote community and education. These factors can impact an individual’s access to care and their overall health.
Ontario is a demographically diverse province, and we know from CNO’s Workforce Census that Ontario’s nursing workforce is also extremely diverse. This diversity makes cultural awareness, fair treatment and inclusive practices essential for the nursing profession. When we identify and remove systemic barriers, we create better health outcomes for everyone.
CNO regularly seeks input from both Indigenous and equity-deserving groups to help inform our work. This includes consultations on regulatory changes, applicant and employee experiences and public perceptions of CNO. We collect feedback through surveys, focus groups and listening sessions to learn about the diverse lived experiences of Ontarians and the nurses who call Ontario home.
CNO is also leading the way in training staff to conduct Equity Impact Assessments. When we review the work we do from an inclusion lens, we can more easily identify if there is an impact on quality or equality for any population. We can learn if a new policy or process may either negatively or positively impact any individuals, groups or communities. As we continue building strong relationships and partnerships with different communities, we can also test our assumptions on those who have lived experiences of racism, discrimination and bias.
Land acknowledgement
CNO operates on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territories of many Indigenous communities across Ontario, which continue to be home to Indigenous Peoples. CNO’s office is in Toronto, on land that is the traditional territory of many nations, including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg (Awe-Nish-na-beck), the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee (Hoe-De-Nah-Show-Nee) and the Wendat peoples.
Both staff and members of CNO’s Council have embraced the process for sharing this Land Acknowledgement, with many volunteering to recite it before a large meeting. We understand, however, that reading the same words at every gathering can diminish their impact, so CNO encourages each person to end their delivery with a personal reflection. CNO has worked with Indigenous partners to create a short guide for staff to support their reflection. These observations and expressions of personal insight can be a powerful way to truly embrace cultural humility.