Court dismisses judicial review from nurses' union demanding better PPE
ONA argued province hadn't done enough to protect health-care workers from COVID-19
A judicial review brought on by the The Ontario Nurses' Association (ONA) that demanded better access to personal protective equipment (PPE) to protect its members has been dismissed.
In the application for review filed in February, the ONA said the province hadn't done enough to protect health-care workers from COVID-19, singling out a directive from Ontario's chief medical officer of health as inadequate.
However, in a ruling issued this week, the court said the application had failed to prove that the province's directives were unreasonable, or that they contravened charter rights.
"The application must, therefore, be dismissed," the ruling states.
The union wanted the province to explicitly acknowledge that the virus can be transmitted through the air, that asymptomatic transmission occurs and that nurses need the highest level of precaution available.
At the time of the application, the ONA said nearly 19,000 health-care workers had been infected in the province.
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