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North Bay hospital workers hold town hall over staffing cuts
Posted: December 2, 2025
(December 1, 2025) By: BayToday Staff, BayToday.ca
Nearly 1,000 health care workers represented by CUPE 139 are calling on the public to join a town hall meeting Tuesday evening in response to significant staffing cuts at the North Bay Regional Health Centre
A wave of concern is sweeping through the health care community in North Bay as unionized workers prepare for a public town hall tomorrow to address recent layoffs and what they say is a growing crisis in patient care.
The union represents nearly 1,000 workers at North Bay Regional Health Centre. The town hall meeting is planned for Tuesday evening at the Davedi Club.
“As frontline health care workers, we are deeply committed to our people in our community, which includes our own loved ones,” said Mike Turgeon, president of CUPE 139. “The hospital’s recent decision to cut 40 jobs is alarming at a time when we are understaffed and struggling to maintain a high standard of patient care. We can’t afford more cuts. We are urging North Bay residents to attend our community town hall and participate in our campaign to advocate for better hospital services.”
Scheduled to speak at the event are union leaders as well as members of the public who have experience at the hospital as patients and caregivers.
According to CUPE’s analysis, instead of reducing staff, the hospital must add 120 workers annually to keep up with growing patient volumes. “The government’s funding plan has constrained NBRHC, leading to layoffs. The North Bay hospital is facing a $5.6 million deficit,” says a release.
Earlier this week, health minister Sylvia Jones said it was ‘appropriate’ for the hospital to cut positions, which Turgeon said reflected the aloofness of government officials from the experience of frontline workers who are exhausted and burnt out due to understaffing.
“It’s clear that they have no idea about our lived reality in North Bay,” he said. “For them, it’s about balancing their books, no matter the consequences for the people here – that person waiting 17 hours in the ER, the elderly patient lying on a stretcher in the hallway waiting to be admitted, the nurse who cries at the end of her shifts because she is so exhausted. They don’t care about us.
“This affects all of us – everyone in this city should be assured that if they fall sick, they can rely on a well-funded, properly staffed hospital. The government, through its funding cuts, is taking that away from us. It’s unacceptable,” Turgeon said.
Speakers will include Turgeon; Danielle Shank-Nilsson, member of the public; Aidan Haghgoo, member of the public; Michael Hurley, president of CUPE’s Ontario Council of Hospital Unions; Natalie Mehra, executive director of the Ontario Health Coalition; Crystalynn Bos, president of North Bay Labour Council
It takes place from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
