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Further reductions would impact our ability to provide the level of care our patients and communities deserve, according to hospital spokeswoman
Published Oct 27, 2025 • Last updated 4 hours ago • 5 minute read
Mike Turgeon, president of Local 139 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees and Mike Hurley, president of CUPE’s Ontario Council of Hospital Unions held a press conference to address the 40 hospital layoffs. Photo by Jennifer Hamilton-McCharles, The NuggetArticle content
The elimination of 40 jobs at the North Bay Regional Health Centre is just the beginning, according to the union representing more than 1,000 hospital workers.
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Mike Turgeon, president of Local 139 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), warned that patients should expect to wait longer in the health centre’s emergency room, an increase in readmission rates, and medical errors because of a reduction of front-line staff.
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He said the health centre is claiming they require $5.6 million in savings due to increased overtime and sick leave.
“I can’t see how eliminating 40 front-line positions will alleviate overtime and will not increase sick time. Staff are burnt out, they’re at their limit, and there’s been a retention issue in this country since the end of COVID,” Turgeon said during a Monday press conference at the CUPE McIntyre Street office.
“And this is how they’re thanking our members who kept the hospitals open, the lights on, and brought the care to the patients.”
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The Nugget asked the North Bay Regional Health Centre whether there will be more cuts if the hospital doesn’t find enough savings?
“We don’t want to speculate, because the board and our senior leadership team feel that further reductions would impact our ability to provide the level of care our patients and communities deserve,” stated hospital spokeswoman Kim McElroy in an email to The Nugget.
The Nugget asked Turgeon where the savings should come from, and he pointed to the health centre’s 45 senior managers, an additional vice president, and three more directors.
“Those positions might be a good starting point,” said Turgeon.
Exactly what unionized positions are being eliminated remains unknown because CUPE has not been able to meet with the affected employees yet. But hospital spokesperson Kim McElroy did confirm that several non-union positions have been eliminated.
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“Five non-union positions and eight physician leadership roles (no change in physician numbers) have been eliminated,” she said in an email to The Nugget.
“As part of our annual budgeting process each department in our health centre is compared against similar departments in our peer hospitals across the province. These comparisons look at the number of full-time employees (FTEs) supporting the functional centre, scope of service/care and operational budget,” she said.
The process to identify where to jobs, said McElroy, was carried out as part of the hospital’s annual budgeting exercise.
“As part of our annual budgeting process each department in our health centre is compared against similar departments in our peer hospitals across the province. These comparisons look at the number of full-time employees (FTEs) supporting the functional centre, scope of service/care and operational budget,” she said.
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The job cuts will be partially offset by 14 new positions. Actual layoffs will also be minimized by encouraging staff to accept offers of an early exit, retirement, or redeployment.
“We have done everything in our power to meet our financial target and find savings equal to two per cent of our budget,” said Paul Heinrich, CEO at the North Bay Regional Health Centre.
“Hospitals face a number of complex challenges, including operational pressures, financial constraints, and an increased demand for services. Our priority is always to protect and maintain access to health care.”
But Turgeon isn’t buying that. Neither is Mike Hurley, president of CUPE’s Ontario Council of Hospital Unions.
“North Bay residents deserve better, and the city’s health care workers deserve a lot better,” Turgeon told local media.
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What adds salt to the wound, he said, is that the hospital didn’t give any warning of impending staff cuts during a recent meeting between the union and management.
“There was a (Fiscal Advisory Committee Meeting) meeting six weeks ago, where the employer is required to disclose to the union if there are going to be any cuts? And if there are, they are to work with us from the beginning stages to minimize the number of cuts,” Turgeon said.
“The union asked those questions, but was never told this would happen. We don’t have enough bodies on the floor to take care of everyone, patients are left agitated and potentially could see an increase in violence on staff,” he said.
McElroy stated she can’t provide specific details of that meeting, however “I can tell you that budgetary challenges were discussed at the FAC meeting with the unions.”
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Turgeon added that nurses at the North Bay health centre are “caring for 10 to 12 patients at a time,” and that understaffing means that it is “not possible to provide good care.”
“Nurses are so afraid to make a mistake, they’re crying in the bathroom on their breaks,” he said.
“People are not getting the care they need due to understaffing caused by funding cuts. On weekends, they’re so short they can’t get them bathed. It’s not acceptable,” he said.
The union is vowing to do whatever it takes “to protect jobs and defend our public hospital.”
“It’s clear that neither this government nor this employer has a plan for the people of North Bay who need hospital care. We are not going to take this lying down. CUPE is going to fight back. There will be a town-hall meeting, rallies, events, and we will not be letting this issue go.”
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Hurley said these cuts are adding to a worsening health care crisis.
He said the North Bay hospital is situated in a community where thousands of people do not have access to a family doctor, more than 2,000 people across the province are lying in stretchers waiting for a hospital room, and a reduction of hospital beds from 50,000 to 35,000 compared to 25 years ago.
“We’re going to pursue this, because we’re afraid this 40 (jobs) will be another 60 and then another 100. And there will be downsizing of beds, and this hospital will be a shell of what it used to be,” Hurley added.
“From our calculation based on Canadian Health Care information data, this hospital needs another 120 staff this year and 90 beds just to meet capacity problems,” he said.
“Downsizing staff is a huge setback. We will not accept it, and we’re confident the community will not either.”
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