North York Family Health Team Strike Enters Week Six Amid Questions of Fiscal Mismanagement, Lack of Accountability and Loss of Care for 95,000 Patients

TORONTO, Nov. 25, 2025 /CNW/ - More than 95,000 patients continue to be without access to team-based primary care as a forced strike by North York Family Health Team nurses and health-care professionals enters its sixth week.

"Colon cancer survivors are not able to be screened for a recurrence of the disease by their nurse practitioners, group health programs are not being run, and home-bound patients are not being seen," says Ontario Nurses' Association (ONA) Provincial President Erin Ariss, RN. "There is a long list of care and services that North York patients are missing, as the board of this health team refuses to negotiate a fair first contract with their highly skilled staff."

Ariss asks why there is no accountability at this board or those who fund primary care. "Family health teams across our province were provided with additional funding meant to go to recruit and retain front-line staff," she notes. "Most teams used those funds for their intended purpose – including wage increases for front-line staff. However, the North York Family Health Team used these additional funds to pay down its own deficit."

To date, the provincial government has passed the buck and said it is not their responsibility to look at where public funds have been used by this board. Ariss says that is simply untrue.

Ariss says, "Ontarians want to know that their hard-earned tax dollars are being spent properly. Health Minister Sylvia Jones needs to hold this employer accountable for their use of dedicated funding and keep vital services alive. It's about fairness. If the board of directors is not fulfilling their responsibility to their staff and patients, then the Ministry of Health and Ontario Health should investigate where the funds have gone."

"This government did something positive for front-line health professionals and those they serve in primary care by providing some new funding – but without accountability, it is meaningless," says Ariss. "Ontarians should be concerned about whether they can trust employers, especially those with a history of financial mismanagement. It's time for the Minister to step up. We're calling for another forensic audit of the health team's books and demanding they get back to the bargaining table."

North York Family Health Team members are picketing on Tuesday, November 25 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Ontario Health at 525 University Avenue.

ONA is the union representing more than 68,000 registered nurses and health-care professionals, as well as 18,000 nursing student affiliates, providing care in hospitals, long-term care facilities, public health, the community, clinics and industry. 

SOURCE Ontario Nurses' Association

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